Strong democratic governments enjoying a clear mandate should not be unduly disturbed by satire, criticism and lampooning, but Indian citizens exercising free speech are increasingly running into censorial rule-making.

A new generation of journalists and satirists has severely discomfited those in power, leading to several orders issued under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and rules to remove critical posts on social media. Some aspects of IT Rules 2021 and attempted tweaks to it in 2023 met with public disapprobation and judicial restraint.

One of them was setting up an official fact-checking outfit, which was struck down by the Bombay High Court. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) has now fired another salvo in the form of further........

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