India: Breaking Search via Censorship
February 13, 2012
Oh, boy, more censorship momentum. Reuters reports, “Internet Giants Pull Content After Warning in India Courts.” Google and Facebook have caved to India’s demands that they remove content considered offensive to Hindus, Muslims, and/or Christians. The government is attempting to head off religious conflict, but is censorship in the world’s largest democracy really the best way to do so?
The Indian law passed last year gives companies three days to remove offensive content once they receive a complaint. The article notes that Google, Facebook, Yahoo, and Microsoft have appealed to the Delhi High Court in a case brought by journalist Vinay Rai. Writers Arup Roychoudhury and Harichandan Arakali informed us:
The High Court has yet to rule on their appeal, but the sitting judge warned in January they were responsible for content on their websites and said he could block sites ‘like China’ if they did not get their house in order. In the Rai case, the court ordered the companies to stand trial for offences relating to the distribution of obscene material to minors, after being shown images it said were offensive to Prophet Mohammed, Jesus and various Hindu gods and goddesses, as well as several political leaders.
Wait, political leaders? Ponder that one for a moment.
The judge may have threatened China-like measures, but India is actually a censorship lightweight compared to some nation states and companies which operate as nation states. Search is tough enough without information going missing and libraries getting marginalized.
Cynthia Murrell, February 13, 2012
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[…] India: Breaking Search via Censorship Beyond Search: Oh, boy, more censorship momentum. Reuters reports, “Internet Giants Pull Content After Warning in India Courts.” Google and Facebook have caved to India’s demands that they remove content considered offensive to Hindus, Muslims, and/or Christians. […]
[…] India: Breaking Search via Censorship Beyond Search: Oh, boy, more censorship momentum. Reuters reports, “Internet Giants Pull Content After Warning in India Courts.” Google and Facebook have caved to India’s demands that they remove content considered offensive to Hindus, Muslims, and/or Christians. […]