There is a need to find the balance between freedom of speech and the impact of fake news on the safety of citizens. The government of India is fighting a battle on two fronts, COVID-19 and the large influx of information regarding the pandemic. This flow of news provides an opportunity for misleading false news to spread quickly via different social media platforms in the country of 700 million active internet users.
The government of India claims that it became necessary to take regulatory measures to control the spread of such misinformation. Curbing fake news and protecting the freedom of speech and freedom of expression at the same time is not an easy task especially when social media made the lines between two very blurred. With the availability of digital resources, false news is spreading at an alarming rate, by one simple click or ‘forward’. This is strongly affecting someone’s critical thinking and ability to make informed decisions.
In March 2020, the Supreme Court recognized the problem of fake news and passed an order asking the state government to comply with the directions given by the central government to control the menace of uncontrolled fake news. At the moment, India does not have any dedicated legislation to regulate fake news and hence the country is looking for a new IT law that can maintain consistency with the international standards and solve the existing problem.
