The Wikimedia Foundation, a United States-based non-profit, said on Thursday that it has not received any notice from the Indian government in connection with content hosted by Wikipedia, reported The Hindu quoting an unidentified company spokesperson.
This came two days after media reports claimed that the Centre issued notice to the online encyclopedia asking it to explain why it should be treated as an intermediary rather than a publisher.
Under the Information Technology Act, intermediaries are companies that store and transmit third-party content and are not liable for the content hosted on their platforms.
However, these platforms must exercise due diligence to prevent illegal content. If an online entity fails to do so, the government can classify it as a publisher, removing its protection from criminal liability.
The Centre’s alleged notice reportedly mentioned many complaints of bias and inaccuracies against Wikipedia and claimed that a small group appeared to have editorial control over the platform.
Wikipedia is a free online collaborative encyclopedia edited by volunteers.
“Volunteers from many backgrounds and political persuasions edit Wikipedia,” The Hindu quoted the Wikimedia Foundation spokesperson as saying. “This model reinforces that Wikipedia articles present a broad view of knowledge on a topic, rather than any one perspective.”
Indian Wikipedia editors are key contributors, consistently ranked among the top contributors from any country worldwide, the spokesperson added.
These developments come against the backdrop of a defamation case filed by news agency ANI in the Delhi High Court seeking the removal of an allegedly defamatory description on its Wikipedia page, which says that the news agency has been criticised for serving as a “propaganda tool” of the current Union government.
During the proceedings, the court threatened to order the Union government to block Wikipedia in India if the Wikimedia Foundation did not provide details about those responsible for editing ANI’s page.
On October 28, the foundation told the court that it was ready to share basic subscriber information about its users who edited the page. The data about the users will be shared in a sealed cover, which means it will not be available to the public.
While it is unclear what details will be shared with the High Court confidentially, basic subscriber information typically refers to a user’s name, address, email address, phone number and other identifiers.
Also read: A Delhi High Court case could end up threatening how Wikipedia works in India
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