A Swift towards the Regulation of Fake News on Social Media Platform: A Study Of Regulatory Framework In India

Social media’s impact on our daily life, and the way people form opinion through social media information, has become the subject matter of the study for academician. Social media is a platform on which fake news can easily spread and have the power to amplify the speed and force of the message that advocate abuse against minorities and allow incendiary news spread like wildfire, that phrase fake news has been used in different context. Fake news fabricates the information with organizational process or intent, purpose of information is to mislead other into believing falsehood and doubting true facts, fake news contain many kinds of information such as propaganda, person exploited as satire, profit mechanism fake news etc. Almost every political party had their own IT department for fabrication of the information. In India there is no direct regulatory regime for the regulation of fake news and indirect regulation are sometimes conflicts with the right of freedom of speech and expression. This paper outline the current regulatory mechanism for the regulatory framework, tools and techniques used for the regulation, loopholes in the current regulatory mechanism and need for specific law for fake news and repercussions of regulation of social media content because it may affect individual right of freedom of speech and expression paper also discusses about various steps taken by WhatsApp in response to the Indian government concern over fake news.

Keywords- Social Media, Fake news, regulatory framework, tools and techniques of regulation and right to free speech
and expression

Fake News- A tool to confuse the Freedom to Choose

The development in technology results in the growth of the nation. But when this development in technology is used as tool against growth, violence prevails. Social media plays a very significant role in influencing the lives of people. The choices that an individual makes, is deeply influenced by the social media tools. Not just this but the publication of fake news have profoundly impacted the brain of an individual to such an extent that even before circulating any such fake news or misinformation, the validity of the same is not even questioned. The right to choose and the right to informed choice both have been threatened by the growing trend of Fake news. Since every individual has the right to freedom of speech and expression, the regulation of fake news is one of the most difficult task before the state. The creation of fake news and the absence of regulatory mechanism in controlling such menace have led to its tremendous growth in last three decades. This rising trend have manipulated various arena’s including the rights of the individuals, the communication and political structure of the country. The unexpected political scenarios, increasing threat to public peace and the disturbance in the social environment are the result of the growing trend of Fake news. The vagueness in the law is also a reason as to why this menace is difficult to control.