The contempt of court notice to Wikipedia
On 5 September 2024, the Delhi High Court issued a contempt of court notice to Wikipedia. The contempt of court notice was issued to Wikipedia after Asian News International (ANI) filed a complaint against Wikipedia. ANI’s complaint was about the failure of Wikipedia to comply with the court order regarding the disclosure of user information who made allegedly defamatory edits on ANI’s Wikipedia page.
The news agency ANI filed the complaint (contempt of court) to the Delhi High Court because someone edited its Wikipedia page to describe it as a “propaganda tool” for the current Indian government. However, a defamation suit of 2 Crore against Wikipedia has been filed so that they will reveal the information about the three individuals responsible for the edits. This has led to a contempt of court situation for Wikipedia.
The case of Wikipedia is represented by the advocate Tine Abraham in the Delhi High Court. The advocate told the court that it needed time to respond to the court order and to appear. The Wikipedia platform is not headquartered in India to immediate response to the contempt of court notice.
Justice Navin Chawla expressed his dissatisfaction with the legal defence of advocate Tine Abraham. The judge argued that since Wikipedia is not based in India, it was not bound by Indian legal obligations in the same way as domestic entities. This kind of argument was dismissed by the court by referencing early cases where a similar defence was presented.
Justice Navin Chawla got frustrated over Wikipedia’s non-compliance activities and then issued a contempt of court notice. He warns Wikipedia by saying, “I will impose contempt…It is not a question of Defendant No 1 (Wikipedia) not being an entity in India. We will close your business transactions here. We will ask the government to block Wikipedia.”
Justice Chawla said, “Earlier also you people have taken this argument. If you don’t like India, please don’t work in India.” The next hearing of the court is scheduled on 25th October 2024. The court has ordered that an authorised representative from Wikipedia must appear in the court in person on the hearing date.
Background of Wikipedia
Wikipedia is considered one of the largest online reference platforms. It is an open-source platform that allows its users to edit its content on the site. 63 million articles are available on Wikipedia in more than 300 languages.
Wikipedia was started in 2001. Its model of collaborative editing has transformed dissemination and knowledge creation. This is driven by the idea that collective intelligence can surpass individual expertise.
The evaluation of the model of collaborative editing of Wikipedia started with real-time tools including Microsoft Office Online and Google Docs. With these real-time editing tools, users simultaneously edit documents and gain instant feedback. The open-source development communities started to emerge with the trend of social coding platforms like GitHub Blend.
Wikipedia became a revolutionary source of knowledge by bringing a large pool of volunteers to its sites through the Internet. However, Wikipedia has followed a non-profit business model. It means it does not generate revenue directly from its users or content. Rather it generates revenue from grants, donations and other blend of sources.
Among numerous milestones, Wikivoyage gained popularity. Wikivoyage is a dedicated platform to share travel information. Wikipedia made a $100 million endowment fund to make the platform sustainable.
The marketing strategy of word-of-mouth takes an unconventional route. By avoiding traditional advertising Wikipedia has promoted their sites through word-of-mouth of satisfied users. It became easy for Wikipedia to maintain a robust online presence.
Challenges faced by Wikipedia
Nowadays, Wikipedia is facing challenges to changes in collateral laws (contempt of court). The recent EU copyright law affected the platform. While there is a limited exception for Wikipedia, the law doesn’t fully align with the platform’s operational practices. This misalignment creates challenges for Wikipedia in maintaining compliance.
Because of the model of collaborating editing, anyone can change, create and delete Wikipedia articles. The credibility of the information published in the Wikipedia article is lower. The sources mentioned in the platforms can not be used for academic or scholarly contributions.
Wikipedia also faces criticism for not maintaining quality in the articles. Even several legal actions including contempt of court cases also occurred. The information published on the platforms is not cross-checked. Oftentimes politically biased data is also found on the platform.
Background of ANI
ANI News Agency was founded by Mr. Prem Prakash on 9th December 1971. Its headquarters is in Delhi. In the initial stage, when India was facing political and social changes, ANI used to provide news by sharing footage from foreign broadcasters.
Over the decade ANI has built a strong place in the Indian news agency sector. Nowadays they used to share video footage and other important news to their clients. Some of ANI’s clients are CNN, NDTV, ABP, Aaj Tak and more.
However, ANI faces a lot of criticism because of its controversial move towards hiding news and facts regarding government policies. They even filed a complaint, leading to a contempt of court notice against Wikipedia because of the mention of the agency as a “propaganda tool” for the current Indian government.
Online content regulation future in India
The Minister of State for Electronics and IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated that the Indian government is taking steps for online content regulations (contempt of court). This approach will regulate online platforms that are involved in advertising technology and content monetization.
The Indian government is concerned about the small companies that dominate internet services like search engines, e-commerce, ad tech and many other online fields in India. The issuance of online content regulation law will be a part of the Digital India Act. This will help to maintain a balance between small or medium-sized content creators and large platforms.
Chandrasekhar emphasized that online content creator companies would face penalties for violating rules. He also noted that the Indian government had been proactive in dealing with emerging issues like deepfakes, which can spread misinformation and disrupt law and order.
The Indian government is also bringing stronger data privacy laws like Digital Personal Data Protection Bill. With this stricter law, online platforms need to maintain transparency about how the data of users is collected, stored and used. Failure to comply with the law might lead to legal consequences like contempt of court.
An open-source platform like Wikipedia and its collaborative editing model might be used by any individual or community figure to violate Indian law (contempt of court) on data protection. The team of Wikipedia might face challenges in spreading misinformation and biased data. To comply with the Indian Data Protection Law, Wikipedia needs to maintain a robust system for moderation, transparency and fact-checking.
FAQ
Did Wikipedia bring revolution?
Wikipedia became a revolutionary source of knowledge by bringing a large pool of volunteers to its sites through the Internet.
What are the challenges Wikipedia faces nowadays?
Nowadays, Wikipedia is facing challenges to changes in collateral laws. The recent EU copyright law affected the platform. While there is a limited exception for Wikipedia, the law doesn’t fully align with the platform’s operational practices. This misalignment creates challenges for Wikipedia in maintaining compliance.
Is the Indian government banning Wikipedia?
Justice Navin Chawla got frustrated over Wikipedia’s non-compliance activities and then issued a contempt of court notice. He warns Wikipedia by saying, “I will impose contempt…It is not a question of Defendant No 1 (Wikipedia) not being an entity in India. We will close your business transactions here. We will ask the government to block Wikipedia.”
How does Wikipedia work?
Wikipedia is considered one of the largest online reference platforms. It is an open-source platform that allows its users to edit its content on the site.
Who filed complaints against Wikipedia?
The news agency ANI filed the complaint to the Delhi High Court because someone edited its Wikipedia page to describe it as a “propaganda tool” for the current Indian government.
What is the controversy between Wikipedia and ANI?
The news agency ANI filed the complaint to the Delhi High Court because someone edited its Wikipedia page to describe it as a “propaganda tool” for the current Indian government. ANI’s complaint was about the failure of Wikipedia to comply with the court order regarding the disclosure of user information who made allegedly defamatory edits on ANI’s Wikipedia page.
