Hearing petitions challenging the amended IT Rules, the Bombay High Court on Thursday raised questions about the distinction between print and online media, asking if it will result in an “automatic curtailment of their powers”, LiveLaw reported.
“If someone takes a picture of a newspaper and posts it on Twitter, Twitter will face a takedown notice but will nothing be done to the newspaper,” asked Justice GS Patel, part of a division bench along with Justice Neela Gokhale, pointing out that the rules will only impact digital media. “How is it possible that for the same content, you are an intermediary with respect to digital news but not in print,” the judge asked, according to the report.
The court will hear the matter again on Friday.
The petitions have been filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India and the Association of Indian Magazines, terming the rules as arbitrary and unconstitutional.
The amendment, originally notified on April 6, said social media companies and other intermediaries must take down content deemed fake by a government fact-check unit. It was widely criticised by press groups, opposition leaders and journalists. Kamra’s plea, filed a few days later, said the rules “have a chilling effect and are enough to chill people”.
Earlier this month, the high court observed that if the effect of a rule or law is unconstitutional then it has to go – no matter how laudable or high the motives are.
Newslaundry has reported on length on the controversies surrounding the amendment and why it’s a blow for press freedom. Read about it here.
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