Expunge amendments to IT rules on social media content: Editors Guild

New Delhi: Airlines will now have to reimburse 75% of the ticket costs to flyers whose domestic flight tickets have been downgraded.

As per aviation regulator Directorate General of Civil Aviation new norms, the reimbursement amount for the downgrade of international tickets will vary from 30% to 75% of the ticket costs, including taxes, depending on the distance covered by the particular flight.

New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India has written to Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw , urging him to "expunge" the amendments to IT Rules that seek to direct social media platforms to take down news or information identified as "fake" by the PIB's Fact Checking Unit.

In a letter sent to Vaishnaw, the Guild asked the ministry to initiate consultations with press bodies, media organisations and other stakeholders on the regulatory framework for digital media, so as not to undermine press freedom.

The Guild said it was "deeply concerned" by the proposed amendment giving sweeping powers to the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

"This new procedure basically serves to make it easier to muzzle the free press, and will give sweeping powers to the PIB, or any 'other agency authorised by the Central government for fact checking', to force online intermediaries to take down content that the government may find problematic," it said.

The Guild noted that the role of the PIB was limited to disseminating information to news organisations on affairs of the government.

"By this proposed amendment, sweeping regulatory powers are sought to be given to this agency, which is patently illegal and unconstitutional," it said in the letter.

The Guild reiterated that regardless of the absence of procedures, the amendment was in itself an illegal move as the PIB has no constitutional authority to be a regulator of the press in any capacity.

New Delhi: More than 1,500 cases of stone pelting on moving trains were recorded across the country in 2022 and over 400 people arrested for the offence, the Railways said Wednesday.

Vande Bharat trains have also suffered damage due to stone pelting, the most recent being in West Bengal.