India: Issued judgement in lawsuit challenging MeitY's rules pertaining to identification of fake content against the government on social media (Kunal Kamra v Union of India and Others)

On 11 March 2024, the High Court of Bombay refused to grant an interim stay on establishing a Fact-Check Unit (FCU) under the amended Information Technology Rules 2023 (IT Rules 2023), targeting fake and false content on social media against the government. The Court noted that no grave and irreparable loss would occur due to the establishment of the FCU. The Court emphasised that political opinions, satire, and comedy are not intended targets of the FCU and any actions taken by the FCU post-notification would be subject to final court orders on the validity of IT Rules 2023.