The Delhi High Court on Thursday warned Wikipedia that it will ask the government to block the platform in India, and issued it a contempt of court notice, reported Bar and Bench.
This came after Asian News International claimed that Wikipedia had not complied with orders to disclose information about users who added allegedly defamatory descriptions of the news agency on the platform.
Wikipedia is a free online collaborative encyclopaedia edited by volunteers. It is owned by the United States-based non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.
The platform’s counsel told the court that it took time for Wikipedia to appear before the court because it is not based in India, Live Law reported.
“It is not a question of defendant no. 1 [Wikipedia] not being an entity in India,” Bar and Bench quoted Justice Navin Chawla as saying. “We will close your business transactions here. We will ask the government to block Wikipedia... Earlier also you people have taken this argument. If you don’t like India, please don’t work in India.”
The court ordered a representative of Wikipedia to be present in court on October 25, when the matter will be heard next.
ANI has sued Wikipedia for defamation. In July, the news agency told the court that a Wikipedia page about it contained a defamatory description.
The Wikipedia page about ANI says that the news agency has been criticised for serving as a “propaganda tool” for the current Union government.
ANI also contended that Wikipedia was not allowing its page to be edited. “They have closed my [ANI’s] page for editing by anyone and can only be edited through their representatives,” the news agency’s lawyer Sidhant Kumar had told the court in July.
ANI’s petition seeks to have the allegedly defamatory text removed, in addition to Rs 2 crore in damages from Wikipedia.
ANI contended that Wikipedia is a “public utility” and cannot “behave as a private actor”, according to Live Law.
On July 12, in response to the defamation case filed against it, the Wikimedia Foundation said that the platform’s content is determined by its global community of volunteer editors.
“As a technology host, the Wikimedia Foundation generally does not add, edit or determine content published on Wikipedia,” it stated. “Wikipedia’s content is determined by its global community of volunteer editors [also known as Wikimedia Community] who compile and share information on notable subjects.”
Responding to ANI’s claim that Wikipedia was not allowing its page to be edited, the Wikimedia Foundation said that the webpage about the news agency had been set to “extended confirmed protection”.
This category, Wikipedia said, allows edit access only to volunteer user accounts that meet the criteria of being at least 30 days old and having 500 edits.
The foundation added: “Experienced users can continue to improve the Wikipedia article about ANI in accordance with Wikipedia’s policies and guidelines on reliability, verifiability, neutrality and conflict of interest editing.”
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!