The Government of Karnataka has proposed a Misinformation and Fake News (Prohibition) Act, which will crack down on digital content, making punishable by law, posts that are deemed offensive. What constitutes offense is a varied and possibly contradictory mix: “anti-feminist”, “disrespectful of Sanatan symbols”, “obscene”, “promotes superstition” and “abusive” are among the phrases listed in coverage of the proposed Act, which has been in the works for two years. Should it be passed, those found guilty will face jail terms of up to seven years and fines of up to `10 lakh.
A major red flag in the proposed Karnataka Misinformation and Fake News (Prohibition) Act is the inclusion of the term “anti-feminist”. What does misogyny really mean in the context of protecting organised religion? The possibilities for interpretation are very broad. Would, say, an action like a public figure choosing to wear Western attire to her own wedding be deliberately read as an insult to womanly values as per the establishment?
Similar to how “decolonising” has been widely appropriated by right-wing Indians, misused as a concept to bring back extremely regressive and discriminatory worldviews, feminism too is being forced into the fold in myriad ways. Symbolism is key: it is done, for example, through the valorisation of women who are deemed ideal through certain socio-cultural parameters, who have a strong nationalist bent. The day is not far away when those who do not toe this line will be considered “anti-feminist”, with feminism itself having been largely co-opted.
Even without the inclusion of the term “anti-feminist”, however, any such law can be and historically has been used to suppress freedom of expression, critical thinking and dissent. While this Act indicates that opinions, parody and the like are excluded from its purview, in application, the potential for overreach is vast due to vague terminology. The Internet Freedom Foundation, an Indian non-profit, has publicly requested that the Karnataka government reconsider it in this light.
Digital misinformation is a huge problem in India, but the introduction of curbs like these are in themselves a distortion of why this problem took root in the first place. The notorious IT cells of political parties, with their infiltration both of social media platforms and of daily life through WhatsApp forwards and such, are where any eradication of offensive and inaccurate information must begin. Instead, an Act like this appears primarily designed to target individual citizens and alternate or agnostic press platforms. It will be used against people whose stated sentiments oppose the sentiments of the state. It will also be used by ordinary citizens with ideological proximity to power in order to oppress people who do not have the same.
Laws that prohibit freedom of expression are draconian, especially considering that freedom of expression is inadequately protected to begin with. India has an abysmal ranking on the World Press Freedom Index (159 out of 190 countries as of 2024). Targeting digital misinformation must necessarily go hand-in-hand with institutional and civic support for an unmuzzled media, with a more diverse range of platforms, and for creating more democratic and less violent online portals. Otherwise, such Acts will do little but stifle opposition.