The proposed authority will scrutinise social media for fake, manipulated, or offensive content—especially posts insulting women, faiths like Sanatana Dharma, or promoting superstition—ensuring accuracy in science, history, and culture
Published Jun 22, 2025 | 1:02 AM ⚊ Updated Jun 22, 2025 | 1:02 AM
Karnataka proposes stringent law to ban fake news, faces legal and civil rights scrutiny
Synopsis: The Congress-led Karnataka government faces fresh controversy over its proposed Karnataka Misinformation and Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, 2025, set to be tabled before the next cabinet meeting. The draft law seeks to establish a Fake News on Social Media Regulatory Authority, empowered to block or ban content deemed false or misleading. The six-member body will include the Minister for Kannada and Culture (Chairperson), legislators, social media representatives, and a senior IAS officer as Secretary.
Controversy after controversy keeps dogging the Congress government in Karnataka. Now it is the proposed Karnataka Misinformation and Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, 2025. The draft legislation is expected to be tabled before the next cabinet meeting.
According to reports, a six-member social media regulatory authority will have the power to restrict, block, and ban any content deemed to be false or misleading. The authority will play a key role in ensuring that fake news and harmful content cannot be promoted or distributed online.
The aim of the legislation is to establish a complete ban on the circulation of fake news across social media platforms.
To do this, the government plans to set up a regulatory body named the Fake News on Social Media Regulatory Authority. It will have the Minister for Kannada and Culture, serving as the ex-officio Chairperson, one member each from the Legislative Assembly and Legislative Council, Two members representing social media companies, appointed by the state and senior IAS officer designated as the Secretary of the Authority.
Fake news is defined as “misquotation or the false and/or inaccurate report of one’s statement; editing audio or video which results in the distortion of facts and/or the context; or purely fabricated content.”
Misinformation is defined as “knowingly or recklessly making a false or inaccurate statement of fact, whether wholly or in part, in the context in which it appears excluding opinions, religious or philosophical sermons, satire, comedy or or parody or any other form of artistic expression if a reasonable man of ordinary prudence does not pursue such communications as statements of fact”.
The proposed authority will monitor all social media platforms to identify content that is not just fake or manipulated, but also insulting to women, disrespectful toward Sanatana Dharma or other faiths, or encouraging superstition and harmful practices. The authority will be responsible for ensuring that content posted online, especially on topics like science, history, religion, philosophy, and literature, meets stringent standards of authenticity and accuracy.
But what has riled a lot of people is the punishment recommended. The draft law recommends strict punishments including a fine of up to Rs 10 lakh and up to seven years of imprisonment or both.
Special courts will be set up in the state with the Karnataka High Court’s concurrence. Presiding sessions judges will oversee one or more districts, and will have the power to issue legally binding orders to intermediaries, publishers, and broadcasters.
The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) has cautioned the Karnataka Government and the Cabinet to reconsider the Draft Karnataka Misinformation and Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, 2025.
In a statement online, they say, “Criminal speech offences drafted in broad terms invite partisan or selective enforcement. We has seen this play out before: the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the IT Act in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India for chilling lawful expression through vague language. More recently, Kunal Kamra and several media bodies successfully challenged the Union Government’s “fact-checking unit” under the 2023 IT Rules on the same grounds — that the State should not be arbiter of truth with the power to penalise dissent. The Bombay High Court’s judgement signalled the constitutional incongruity of empowering an executive-led body to define and punish “misinformation”.”
We therefore call on the State Government to:
1. Drop the criminal provisions and, instead, pursue narrowly-tailored, rights-respecting civil or administrative measures focused on transparency, corrections, and platform due-process. This should ordinarily be through mass literacy efforts rather than invoking civil or criminal that lead to censorship.
2. Publish the full draft bill and background note for public consultation before it is tabled in the Assembly, allowing citizens, media, and experts to review and suggest improvements.
A democratic approach to misinformation must strengthen, not shrink, the space for free inquiry and dissent. We stand ready to engage constructively with lawmakers to craft safeguards that protect both truth and fundamental rights.
Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde took to X expressing reservations about this bill being misused by the BJP and to take a pause before bringing such a legislation. He posted, “What happens when the BJP comes back to power in Karnataka? The UAPA and the PMLA were operationalised by the Congress but weaponised by the BJP. Pause and think before you legislate.”
What happens when the BJP comes back to power in Karnataka? The UAPA and the PMLA were operationalised by the Congress but weaponised by the BJP. Pause and think before you legislate. https://t.co/rgeVdrANmW
— SANJAY HEGDE (@sanjayuvacha) June 21, 2025
Senior journalist and author Swati Chaturvedi also took to X to lash out. “When the Congress follows the Modi model. Shameful @RahulGandhi Remember your govt brought in the draconian PMLA which Modi is ensuring the ED misuse to the full. Draconian legislation insults a democracy.”
Lavanya Ballal, Spokesperson INC and General Secretary, Karnataka Congress speaking to South First says any law can be misused and weaponized in the hands of a wrong person.
“But at this point of time in India, we needed some kind of checks for misinformation that is being spread on whatsapp, facebook and other social media platforms. We need to curtail this misinformation. This should not be used to curtail freedom of speech,” she said.
BJP in India is known for whatsapp misinformation she claimed. “Today, the nation is destroyed. A huge section of our youngsters do not know the actual history of the nation but they believe in the misinformation being spread by the BJP. And somewhere this needs to be check. This is one step towards that.”
(Edited by Ananya Rao)
