Blogposts

Bombay HC reserves its judgment in petitions challenging the Union Government’s fact checking amendments, after final hearings conclude

The Bombay High Court has reserved its judgment in a batch of petitions filed by Association of Indian Magazines, Kunal Kamra and others, challenging the constitutionality of the IT Amendment Rules, 2023.
29 September, 2023
5 min read

The Supreme Court asks Government to file a counter in Foundation of Media Professional’s application for compliance with Anuradha Bhasin

The Supreme Court on September 21, 2023 has granted liberty to the Union Government to file its response.
29 September, 2023
2 min read

Shooting down (telcos’) bad ideas: We sent our counter comments to TRAI

We sent our counter comments to TRAI on its consultation paper which dealt with the idea of regulating, licensing, and selectively banning online communication services. We re-iterated our opposition to this idea and countered the arguments raised by telcos.
28 September, 2023
5 min read

“Intermediaries can decide if they want to take down ‘fake’ information” - The Union Government concludes its submissions in petition challenging the IT Amendment Rules, 2023

During its submissions before the Bombay HC in a challenge to the IT Amendment Rules, 2023, the Union Govt clarified that this fact check unit will focus on patently false govt-related content, and that its role is only to flag, leaving the final call to intermediaries.
28 September, 2023
4 min read

Delhi High Court directs government to submit affidavit confirming lack of written records in Aarogya Setu’s development

Updates on Saurav Das’ writ petition before the Delhi High Court, where he is contesting the Central Information Commission’s decision to withhold information related to Aarogya Setu.
16 September, 2023
4 min read

Supreme Court refers challenge to constitutionality of sedition law to a larger Bench of at least 5 judges

Noting that the past cases under Section 124-A will not be affected on account of introduction of new Bills, a 3-judges bench of the Supreme Court led by the CJI has referred the petition challenging the constitutionality of Section 124-A to a larger Bench of at least 5 judges
13 September, 2023
5 min read

Shooting down bad ideas: Our response to TRAI’s consultation paper on OTT Regulation and Selective Banning

TRAI released a consultation paper on OTT regulation and selective banning. In our response, we expressed our view against the licensing and registration as well as selective banning of OTT communication services. See the post to read our detailed comments.
30 August, 2023
5 min read

Fact-Checking or Fact-Hiding? Our RTI inquiring about the Karnataka Fact Checking Unit rejected!

Our RTI request with the Bengaluru Police inquiring about the constitution of a fact check unit (FCU) was rejected stating it as ‘completely vague, speculative and questionable’. However, since then the Chief Minister of Karnataka has reportedly approved the setting up of a state-level FCU.
29 August, 2023
7 min read

The J&K Home Department’s RTI Appellate Authority directs that Review Committee’s findings on internet shutdowns must be provided in RTI

The First Appellate Authority (“FAA”) in J&K’s Home Department has directed the Public Information Officer (“PIO”) to provide copies of the Review Committee’s findings on internet shutdown orders.
22 August, 2023
5 min read

Donate to IFF

Help IFF scale up by making a donation for digital rights. Really, when it comes to free speech online, digital privacy, net neutrality and innovation — we got your back!