Withdraw 'draconian' amendments to IT Rules: Editors Guild
New Delhi (PTI): The Editors Guild of India on Friday said it was "deeply disturbed" by the "draconian" amendments to the Information Technology Rules that gave the government "absolute power" to determine fake news.
In a statement here, the Guild urged the government to withdraw the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules and hold consultations with media organisations and press bodies, as it had promised earlier.
The Guild said as per the rules, the IT Ministry has given itself the power to constitute a "fact checking unit", which will have sweeping powers to determine what is "fake or false or misleading", with respect to "any business of the Central Government."
The ministry has also empowered itself to issue instructions to 'intermediaries' (including social media intermediaries, Internet Service Providers, and other service providers), to not host such content, the Guild said.
"In effect, the government has given itself absolute power to determine what is fake or not, in respect of its own work, and order take down," the statement said.
The Guild said there was no mention of the governing mechanism for such a fact checking unit, the judicial oversight, the right to appeal, or adherence to the guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court of India in Shreya Singhal v Union of India case, with respect to take down of content or blocking of social media handles.
"All this is against principles of natural justice, and akin to censorship," it said.
The Guild said it was surprising that the Ministry had notified this amendment, without any meaningful consultation that it had promised after withdrawing the earlier draft amendments it had put out in January 2023.
"The Ministry's notification of such draconian rules is therefore regrettable. The Guild again urges the Ministry to withdraw this notification and conduct consultations with media organisations and press bodies," it said.
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Air India flight from Mumbai makes 'priority' landing in Bhopal after snag; return leg cancelled
Bhopal (PTI): A Bhopal-bound Air India flight from Mumbai carrying 175 persons on board made a “priority” landing here on Sunday due to a snag, an airport official said.
The aircraft landed safely at Bhopal airport at 3.20 pm, he said.
Consequently, the return leg of the flight from Bhopal to Mumbai, with 178 passengers booked, was cancelled, the official said.
AAI-run Bhopal airport said in a statement that Air India flight AI 633 “reported a technical issue to Air Traffic Control (ATC) during the flight from Mumbai to Bhopal”.
Immediately, all prescribed safety protocols were activated, and seamless coordination was ensured between ATC, airline ground operations, CISF and airpiort fire and rescue team of Bhopal airport, it said in a statement.
The flight, carrying 175 persons, including 166 passengers and nine crew members, landed safely at Bhopal airport at 3.20 pm, the airport operator said.
All necessary assistance and support were extended by the airport and airline teams as per the requirements of the flight crew, it said.
“Due to the technical issue, the aircraft was declared unserviceable, and as a precautionary measure, the return flight AI-634 (Bhopal to Mumbai) was cancelled by the airline to facilitate detailed inspection and rectification,” the statement said.
