The attempt by the courts to gag the online encyclopedia (Wikipedia) has raised concerns about online free speech in India. It started off as a defamation suit against Wikipedia for a description of the Asian News International wire service as “a propaganda tool for the incumbent central government” involved in “distributing materials from a vast network of fake news websites, misreporting events on multiple occasions, and quoting sources that do not exist”.
Since then, the Delhi High Court has insisted that Wikipedia disclose the identities of the users who made the edits and, on Wednesday, even ordered the online encyclopedia to take down a page on the defamation suit.
Mishi Choudhary, founder of SFLC.in told Scroll.in, “Generally, such cases involve critical rights of the users, such as the freedom of speech and expression and the right to privacy. Therefore, courts must ensure there is sufficient legal ground or prima facie merit to justify such disclosures.”
Further, she said, “This appears to deviate from the usual judicial approach of ensuring a proper legal basis before ordering the disclosure of user identities, potentially raising concerns over privacy and freedom of expression.”
Read the full report here: https://scroll.in/article/1074580/why-delhi-hc-is-angry-with-wikipedia-for-calling-ani-a-government-propaganda-tool
Why Delhi HC is angry with Wikipedia for calling ANI a ‘government propaganda tool’
