Late last week we brought you news that the government of India had sanctioned prosecution of Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and others for their refusal to remove objectionable content from search and social networking sites. The High Court of India refused requests from the companies to stay the proceedings, and threatened that the sites could be blocked in India just as they are blocked in China if they refuse to remove content the government sees as offensive.
In response to a complaint by a journalist, Vinay Rai, the court ordered the sites to remove all anti-religious and anti-social content. The court set a deadline of February 6th. Representatives of Facebook and Google in India have repeatedly insisted that the kind of censorship the government is asking for is simply not possible, considering the vast amounts of content on the companies’ sites.
Requests for comment sent to Facebook and Google have not yet received responses. Google’s press office appears to be closed for the national holiday.
[Source: Hindustan Times]