India issues notice to Wikipedia over concerns of bias

Date:

Share post:


Wikipedia is facing mounting regulatory pressure in India as local authorities question whether the platform should continue to enjoy legal protections as a neutral intermediary rather than being classified as a publisher. 

The Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a notice to Wikipedia on Tuesday questioning the encyclopedia’s intermediary status that’s offered to tech platforms in India. The ministry cited concerns about concentrated editorial control and persistent complaints about bias and inaccuracies on the platform.

The notice follows a contentious case in the Delhi High Court, where judges have described Wikipedia’s open editing feature as “dangerous” and threatened to suspend its operations in India. The court is hearing a defamation case brought by news agency Asian News International, which seeks to identify Wikipedia contributors who allegedly characterized the news agency as a “propaganda tool” for India’s government.

Justice Navin Chawla had dismissed Wikipedia’s plea for additional time to respond due to its lack of physical presence in India, warning of initiating contempt proceedings against the platform if it failed to comply with orders to disclose user information. “If you don’t want to comply with Indian regulations, then don’t operate in India,” the judge stated.

Wikipedia has maintained that its volunteer editors must adhere to its established policies regarding verifiable content and legal guidelines, though this defense has faced increasing scrutiny from Indian authorities concerned about the platform’s content moderation practices.

Wikimedia, the non-profit organization that operates Wikipedia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Nikhil Pahwa, editor of MediaNama and a prominent voice on technology policy, questioned the legal basis of the government’s move, arguing that India’s IT law determines platform status based on function rather than the number of editors.

“You can be a platform with one user/editor or a billion,” he wrote on X.



Source link

Lisa Holden
Lisa Holden
Lisa Holden is a news writer for LinkDaddy News. She writes health, sport, tech, and more. Some of her favorite topics include the latest trends in fitness and wellness, the best ways to use technology to improve your life, and the latest developments in medical research.

Recent posts

Related articles

Candela brings its P-12 electric ferry to Tahoe and adds another $14M to build more

Electric passenger boat startup Candela has topped off its most recent raise with another $14 million, the...

OneRail’s software helps solve the last-mile delivery problem

Last-mile delivery, the very last step of the delivery process, is a common pain point for companies....

Bill to ban social media use by under-16s arrives in Australia’s parliament

Legislation to ban social media for under 16s has been introduced in the Australian parliament. The country’s...

Lighthouse, an analytics provider for the hospitality sector, lights up with $370M at a $1B valuation

Here is yet one more sign of the travel industry’s noticeable boom: a major growth round for...

DOJ: Google must sell Chrome to end monopoly

The United States Department of Justice argued Wednesday that Google should divest its Chrome browser as part...

WhatsApp will finally let you unsubscribe from business marketing spam

WhatsApp Business has grown to over 200 million monthly users over the past few years. That means there...

OneCell Diagnostics bags $16M to help limit cancer reoccurrence using AI

Cancer, one of the most life-threatening diseases, is projected to affect over 35 million people worldwide in...

India’s Arzooo, once valued at $310M, sells in distressed deal

Arzooo, an Indian startup founded by former Flipkart executives that sought to bring “best of e-commerce” to...