Karnataka IT Minister Defends Proposed Misinformation Regulation Bill

Karnataka’s IT Minister Priyank Kharge defended the state’s upcoming Misinformation Regulation Bill on Friday, emphasizing that it aims to combat digital misinformation and fake news rather than restrict free speech. Speaking at an event organized by Ikagai Law and the National Law School of India University in Bengaluru, Kharge addressed concerns about potential government overreach.

“Our focus is strictly on misinformation, disinformation, malinformation, and fake news. Nothing beyond that. The Bill is in no way an attempt to silence dissent or critiques of the government,” Kharge stated, attempting to allay fears about the legislation’s intent.

The minister clarified that the proposed law would specifically exclude satire, parody, opinion, artistic expression, and dissent, ensuring that humor and creativity would not be suppressed. This carve-out appears designed to address criticisms that such legislation could be used to stifle legitimate forms of expression.

According to Kharge, the bill will not introduce new legal provisions but will instead consolidate existing frameworks, including the recently enacted Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), to identify and curb false information while remaining within constitutional boundaries.

The Congress-led Karnataka government is currently finalizing the draft legislation, which is expected to be presented during the upcoming State Assembly session in Belagavi next month. This timing suggests the government is moving forward despite ongoing debates about the appropriate regulation of online content.

Kharge also took the opportunity to discredit an 11-page draft that circulated in June, which had drawn significant criticism for potentially enabling censorship rather than addressing the core issue of disinformation. He described this earlier leaked document as “fake and itself an instance of misinformation,” effectively distancing the current proposal from previous iterations.

In a pointed comparison to central government efforts, Kharge claimed the Karnataka bill would withstand judicial scrutiny, unlike the Union government’s “Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023,” which was struck down by the Bombay High Court last year as unconstitutional.

The proposed legislation comes amid growing concerns about the proliferation of misinformation across digital platforms in India. Social media companies have struggled to contain the spread of false information, which has sometimes led to real-world violence and public disorder.

India’s digital landscape has expanded dramatically in recent years, with hundreds of millions of citizens gaining internet access, many for the first time. This rapid digitalization has created new challenges for authorities attempting to balance free expression with the need to protect citizens from harmful content.

Several states and the central government have attempted various regulatory approaches to address online misinformation, with mixed results. Critics argue that such laws can become tools for suppressing legitimate criticism, while supporters maintain that some regulation is necessary in an era of viral misinformation.

The Karnataka bill represents one of the more recent attempts by a state government to tackle this complex issue, and its reception could influence similar initiatives elsewhere in the country. Legal experts and civil liberties advocates will likely scrutinize the final text when it becomes available to assess its potential impact on free speech and digital rights.