0
0
Mumbai: the provisions of the new rules of government information technology for press publishers dealing with a code of ethics have been organized by the High Court High of Bombay, which stated that the requirements violated the freedom of expression. The rules had been challenged by news publishers in several courts in the country.
The High Court has stayed on Saturday clauses 9 (1) and 9 (3) of the information technology rules, 2021 for digital media that relate to the respect of the Code of Ethics, the PTI news agency reported .
“Clauses 9 (1) and 9 (3) of IT rules, 2021, which were that all publishers should follow a code of ethics, violate the freedom of speech pursuant to Article 19 of the Constitution,” said The high court that declared.
Last month, in a government setback, the Supreme Court refused to prevent different courts from the hearing challenges to the new rules, which were introduced by the Center in February.
News publishers allege the new rules violate basic constitutional rights, including freedom of the press and are designed to allow the government to a much closer grip on the content of the new online. More regulation of this important and growth space is necessary, the government has countered.
The IT rules have been largely defended by the former Minister of Information Technologies Ravi Shankar Prasad and the former Minister of Information and Broadcasting Prakash Javadekar; The two men were removed from the Cabinet in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Humongusous refresher of his Council of Ministers last month.
The new computer rules, the government says, are required to regulate social media content and ensure that all online news is in line with the law. The new requirements are included that companies such as WhatsApp breaks end-to-end encryption to identify who was the first sender (or first forwarded a message) of any content that threatens national security.
The Government says that this request will be made only sparingly; Whatappp has challenged this part of the new laws before the Court, saying that it would mean an invasion of the privacy of its users and that a law like this requires Parliament’s approval.
Computer rules also indicate that the Committee of Ministers will have final veto rights on the content deemed problematic for law and security, and can order its abduction.
The news publishers argued that the laws in force already provide for criminal prosecution if they break rules on the publication of child pornography or the management of content that encourages hate or common violence, etc.
They say they are sufficiently governed by self-regulatory bodies who are led by former judges of the Supreme Court; Give final decision-making rights for sanctions or elimination of content to the government encroachs on judicial and impartial surveillance.
The IT rules have been challenged in the High Court of Kerala by News Broadcasters, which includes some of the largest press networks in the country last month. The Court gave a temporary prescription for publishers, requesting that no coercive action be taken against them if they do not now comply with IT rules. Other associations from the information and media industry have filed similar calls to other jurisdictions.
