Won't notify fact-checking unit till July 10, Centre tells Bombay HC

The Union government on Wednesday told the Bombay High Court that it would not notify the fact-checking unit for identifying fake news against the government on social media till July 10.

The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology in its affidavit in response to stand-up comic Kunal Kamra's petition challenging the amended IT rules also said that the courts will be the final arbiters of what is true content and what is false.

While the government defended the Rules, Editors Guild of India and Association of Indian Magazines also filed separate petitions challenging them on the ground that they are unconstitutional and arbitrary.

The government's affidavit said the government has the obligation to not just protect the rights of those who post content on social media but also the rights of those who are consuming content.

Any information identified as false and misleading by the fact-checking unit under the IT Rules would not result in automatic take-down of such ..