Editors Guild voices concern over Karnataka govt decision to set up fact-check unit
New Delhi, Aug 27: The Editors Guild of India on Sunday voiced concerns over the decision of the Karnataka government to set up a fact-checking unit to monitor "fake news" on social media platforms.
The Guild insisted that efforts to check such content have to be by independent bodies that are not under the sole purview of the government lest they become tools to clamp down on voices of dissent.
Any such monitoring framework should follow principles of natural justice, including giving prior notice, right to appeal and judicial oversight, the Guild said in a statement here.
It said such fact-checking units should also be set up with due consultation and involvement of all stakeholders, including journalists and media bodies, so that press freedom is not tampered with.
The Guild has already filed a petition in the Bombay High Court, challenging the amendments to the IT Rules 2023 that allow the setting up of a 'fact-checking unit' under which the executive will have the sole authority to determine what is fake and the powers to order content take-down.
Karnataka's IT & BT Minister Priyank Kharge recently said that "posts and reports that are tagged as fake by the fact-checking unit will be taken down," and "if required, the government can also take penal measures under relevant provisions of the IPC".
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Two arrested in K'taka for assaulting minors, uploading CSAM content
Bengaluru (PTI): Two men were arrested for allegedly sexually assaulting two minor girls, recording the acts on mobile phones and uploading the videos online as child sexual abuse material, police said on Thursday.
The accused have been identified as Kiran Kumar (29), hailing from Chitradurga district, and Aditya M K (20), hailing from Shivamogga district, they said.
A probe was initiated after information was received from the NCRP portal regarding a suspected instance of creation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) for online dissemination, police said.
Accordingly, a case was registered at Kaggalipura Police Station under relevant sections of the IT Act on May 10, they added.
Investigation revealed that two minor girl victims were exploited and videos were created and uploaded to the internet. The child victims have subsequently recorded their statements as per procedure and further necessary legal steps have been taken, Pronab Mohanty Director General of Police, Cyber Command, said in a statement.
Based on the statements of the victims, the accused persons, who allegedly assaulted the minors, recorded the acts on mobile phones and uploaded the videos online, were arrested, he said.
Following the probe, sections 65(2) (rape) and 70 (gangrape) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, along with relevant sections of the POCSO Act, have been added to the FIR, police said.
Officials collected relevant information and on May 12, arrested the accused persons and seized three mobile phones belonging to them, in which the videos had allegedly been recorded, he said.
The accused were later produced before the court and taken into police custody for further investigation, he added.
According to him, in CSAM cases, police usually apprehend offenders who have downloaded such content or have kept them in their possession after obtaining them from elsewhere, usually the internet.
"The present case is one of the very few instances where content creators and uploaders have been apprehended," Mohanty added.
