In March, the government said in response to a parliamentary question that the IT Act was in place to 'regulate misuse of social media'. The specific question, which Minister of State for MeitY KJ Alphons answered, asked if the government was coming up with any policy to 'check circulation of fake news' on social media. The government said the same thing in two Rajya Sabha answers. This position — that the IT Act is a sufficient legal safeguard against fake news — has changed in the last few months considerably. For one, the I&B Ministry set up a committee to regulate online content in what they said was an effort to curb misinformation and fake news. While that committee's future is uncertain at best, the government has been addressing fake news concerns on other fronts. A series of lynchings, many…
