IT Rules: Bombay High Court refuses to restrain Centre from notifying Fact Check Units

The petitioners in this case, including comedian Kunal Kumra, the Editors Guild of India, and the Association of Indian Magazines, challenged Rule 3(1)(b)(v), which mandates social media companies to take down content flagged as misleading by government-backed FCUs and asked the court to restrain the government from notifying the FCUs under the IT Rules. However, the court ruled that no compelling case had been presented to restrain MeitY from proceeding with the notification.

The petitioners contended that the rules would result in disproportionate and unjustified censorship of online content concerning the Central Government. Additionally, they argued that the FCU Rules are excessively broad, lacking clarity, inherently discriminatory, and characterised by arbitrary elements.