‘Bill needs to be binned’: Karnataka government slammed for its fake news bill

The recently introduced Karnataka Misinformation & Fake News (Prohibition) Bill, 2025 has drawn criticism from various quarters, warning that its implementation may muzzle free speech and independent journalism. 

Proposed by the state government in mid-June, the bill aims to criminalise the spread of misinformation, holding individuals, companies, and social media platforms liable for fake news. A six-member regulatory authority will monitor and regulate online content, and offenders could face two to seven years in jail and fines up to Rs 10 lakh. Curiously, the bill specifically bans posts disrespecting “Sanatan” symbols, “anti-feminist” content and beliefs, and posts promoting superstition.

The Indian Express, in an editorial today, said the “draconian” bill “needs to be binned”.

The editorial pointed out several elements that make a legislation “bad in law”: “vague provisions and definitions that invite misuse; arrogation of power to government authorities without necessary checks and guardrails; difficulties of enforcement or possibilities of selective enforcement and, most importantly, legitimate concerns about infringement on fundamental rights and violation of due process”. 

Karnataka’s fake news bill, it concluded, “fulfils these criteria, and more”. It said the bill “flies in the face of the letter and spirit” of the Supreme Court’s judgement in the Shreya Singhal case, and that 50 years after the Emergency, “the lesson on the dangers of state excess and overreach should have been internalised by Congress governments”.

Last week, the Internet Freedom Foundation, a digital rights advocacy group, had warned that the bill “would create fresh criminal offences that could land everyday social-media users in court”. Additionally, founder Apar Gupta wrote that the bill “guts the moral authority with which Congress berates the Union government for throttling dissent through authoritarian laws and practices”.

Noting that the bill’s “vagueness is matched only by its severity”, Gupta wrote: “The government should now scrap or radically prune the carceral clauses and pivot to smarter tools such as independent fact-checking, digital-literacy drives, and narrowly drawn bans limited to provable falsehoods that incite violence…In the fight against online falsehoods, the goal must be to empower citizens with truth and not to empower the state to arbitrate truth.”

The Software Freedom Law Center, another digital rights advocacy group, also issued a statement on July 1, pointing out that the bill could be a framework for authorities to practice regulatory control and issue blocking orders. 

SFLC warned that the approach taken by the bill “has the unintended effect of creating a chilling effect on freedom of speech and expression, stifling dissenting voices and compelling platforms to engage in over-censorship”. 

“While well-intentioned, the Bill excessively invades free speech, and criminalizes communication in a vague and arbitrary manner,” it said. It urged the Karnataka government to “reconsider various provisions” and “engage with a diverse group of stakeholders to conduct an exhaustive study on the impact of such a law”.

It should be noted that Karnataka’s IT minister Priyank Kharge said last week that the government will “hold consultations and come up with a draft proposal, before implementation” of the bill. 

While fake news is certainly rampant, do you really want a government to decide what’s fake and what’s real? Read this piece in Newslaundry on why it’s not a good idea.

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