Google, Facebook pull Indian content following warning
New Delhi: Internet giants Google Inc. and Facebook removed content from some Indian
domain websites on Monday following a court directive warning them of a crackdown "like China" if they did not take steps to protect religious
sensibilities.
The two are among 21 companies ordered to develop a mechanism to block material considered religiously offensive after private
petitioners took them to court over images deemed offensive to Hindus, Muslims and Christians.
Two cases have been brought by individuals
against Internet companies in India, stoking fears about censorship in the world's largest democracy.
At the heart of the dispute is a law
that India passed last year making companies responsible for user content posted on their websites, and giving them 36 hours to take down content if
there is a complaint.
Last month, the companies said it was not possible for them to block content. A New Delhi lower court hearing one of the
cases, a civil suit brought by an Islamic scholar, told the companies on Monday to put in writing the steps they had taken to block offensive content,
and submit reports within 15 days.
That suit was brought by scholar Mufti Aijaz Arshad Qasm, who runs a web-site called fatwaonline.org that
gives answers to moral questions.
[Vancouver Sun]
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