Google-India Removes Objectionable Content
posted on Feb 7, 2012 @ 10:01AM
Google has removed some objectionable content from its India Web Domain complying with a court order. According to informed sources, Google removed content from its search service, YouTube video site and Blogger after receiving an order to do so from Judge Mukesh Kumar of a New Delhi district court.
The material, which includes images of religious figures, has been removed only on Google's localized India Web domain - it is still accessible elsewhere. In a written statement, Google said: "This step is in accordance with Google's longstanding policy of responding to court orders." The company didn't say which specific items it removed. The court also issued directions to Yahoo Inc. and Facebook Inc. to take down offensive content from their sites. Facebook and Yahoo declined to comment.
The district court judge's orders stem from a civil suit filed against several Internet companies by Ajiaz Arshad Qasmi, a private citizen. The suit alleges that the companies hosted content that is intolerant of religious communities and that could spark communal unrest in India. That isn't the only challenge Web companies are facing in India. A separate criminal lawsuit brought by journalist Vinay Rai makes a similar set of allegations against Google, Facebook and others. A trial in that case is set to begin next month, but a Delhi High Court judge will hear the companies' appeal to quash the case Feb. 14.