Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, has been issued a contempt realize by way of a Mumbai courtroom after YouTube failed to take away a defamatory video concentrated on the Dhyan Foundation and its founder, Yogi Ashwini. The video, titled “Pakhandi Baba ki Kartut,” has been on the centre of a criminal fight since March 2022 when a courtroom order advised its removing.
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Court’s Reprimand for Non-Compliance
On November 21, 2023, the Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate’s Court in Ballard Pier issued the contempt realize in opposition to Pichai, accusing YouTube of deliberately pushing aside the courtroom’s order. The Dhyan Foundation, a distinguished animal welfare organisation, filed the unique plea in October 2022, alleging that the video contained false and destructive claims that broken its popularity.
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The NGO argued that Google used to be making use of “lengthen techniques” and making excuses to steer clear of taking down the video, in spite of inflicting vital hurt to the Dhyan Foundation’s credibility and to the popularity of Yogi Ashwini. In their commentary, the basis expressed frustration over YouTube’s persisted website hosting of the video, even after the preliminary courtroom ruling.
YouTube’s Defence and Court’s Rejection
In its defence, YouTube, bringing up the Information Technology (IT) Act, argued that as an middleman, it will have to no longer be held responsible for the content material posted by way of customers. The platform claimed that defamation does no longer fall beneath the types for presidency intervention as in line with Section 69-A of the IT Act, suggesting the subject will have to be handled in civil courtroom as a substitute of legal courtroom.
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However, the courtroom disregarded YouTube’s technical objections, ruling that the IT Act does no longer save you legal courts from intervening in such circumstances. The courtroom famous that there used to be no criminal precedent declaring that legal courts lacked jurisdiction to take care of such problems, thus asserting the validity of the contempt petition.
Continued Legal Proceedings
The contempt case might be heard once more on January 3, 2024. This ruling highlights ongoing tensions between tech platforms and Indian criminal government over problems with on-line content material moderation.
Source: tech.hindustantimes.com
