Delhi HC to hear on May 10 pleas by FB Twitter Google against order to remove anti-Ramdev links globally
New Delhi Mar 21 PTI The Delhi High Court Monday said it would hear on May 10 pleas by Internet and social media giants Facebook Twitter and Google challenging an order directing them to remove block or disable on a global basis links to a video containing defamatory allegations against yoga guruRamdevA bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Jasmeet Singh listed the appeals for hearing in May while asking the parties to file written submissions at least three days before the next date of hearingThe bench said the interim order of January 28 2020 based on the statement of counsel for Ramdev that no contempt will be issued against the appellants shall continueFacebook Twitter and Google have challenged the single judges October 23 2019 order directing them and Googles subsidiary YouTube to forthwith remove block or disable on a global basis links to a video containing defamatory allegations againstRamdevThe single judge had held that merely geo-blocking or disabling access to the defamatory content to viewers from India as agreed to by the social media platforms would not be sufficient as users residing here can gain access to it by other meansThere is an obligation upon the intermediary httpswwwbusiness-standardcomtopicsocial-media nplatforms to disable access which would have to be read as meaning to completely disable access and not partially disable access the court had saidObserving that the race between technology and the law could be termed as a hare and tortoise race – as technology gallops the law tries to keep pace the court had said the provisions of the Information Technology law have to be interpreted in a manner so as to ensure judicial orders are effective and not toothlessThe court had directed the social media platforms that all the offending material which has been uploaded from within India on to the computer network of the platforms would have to be disabled and blocked on a global basisThe court issued the direction after the social media platforms had said that while they have no objection to blocking the URLs and disabling the same insofar as access in India is concerned they were opposed to removalblockingdisabling the defamatory content on a global basisThe defamatory video contained excerpts of a book onRamdevthat were ordered to be deleted by the high court in September 2018The high court had on September 29 2018 restrained the publisher and author of the book Godman to Tycoon from publishing it till the offending portions were deleted the judge had notedIn the October 23 2019 judgement the court had saidThus the content of the video to the extent it contains paraphrasing of content which was directed to be removed from the book is held to be defamatory A perusal of the video transcript and the offending portion of the book show the clear similarity and prima facie establish that the video is derived from the book and hence is defamatory In any event this issue is moot in as much as the video begins by stating that it is based on the book Thus the defamatory nature of the video cannot be disputed the court had said PTI SKV SA
New Delhi Mar 21 PTI The Delhi High Court Monday said it would hear on May 10 pleas by Internet and social media giants Facebook Twitter and Google challenging an order directing them to remove block or disable on a global basis links to a video containing defamatory allegations against yoga guruRamdevA bench of Justices Rajiv Shakdher and Jasmeet Singh listed the appeals for hearing in May while asking the parties to file written submissions at least three days before the next date of hearingThe bench said the interim order of January 28 2020 based on the statement of counsel for Ramdev that no contempt will be issued against the appellants shall continueFacebook Twitter and Google have challenged the single judges October 23 2019 order directing them and Googles subsidiary YouTube to forthwith remove block or disable on a global basis links to a video containing defamatory allegations againstRamdevThe single judge had held that merely geo-blocking or disabling access to the defamatory content to viewers from India as agreed to by the social media platforms would not be sufficient as users residing here can gain access to it by other meansThere is an obligation upon the intermediary httpswwwbusiness-standardcomtopicsocial-media nplatforms to disable access which would have to be read as meaning to completely disable access and not partially disable access the court had saidObserving that the race between technology and the law could be termed as a hare and tortoise race – as technology gallops the law tries to keep pace the court had said the provisions of the Information Technology law have to be interpreted in a manner so as to ensure judicial orders are effective and not toothlessThe court had directed the social media platforms that all the offending material which has been uploaded from within India on to the computer network of the platforms would have to be disabled and blocked on a global basisThe court issued the direction after the social media platforms had said that while they have no objection to blocking the URLs and disabling the same insofar as access in India is concerned they were opposed to removalblockingdisabling the defamatory content on a global basisThe defamatory video contained excerpts of a book onRamdevthat were ordered to be deleted by the high court in September 2018The high court had on September 29 2018 restrained the publisher and author of the book Godman to Tycoon from publishing it till the offending portions were deleted the judge had notedIn the October 23 2019 judgement the court had saidThus the content of the video to the extent it contains paraphrasing of content which was directed to be removed from the book is held to be defamatory A perusal of the video transcript and the offending portion of the book show the clear similarity and prima facie establish that the video is derived from the book and hence is defamatory In any event this issue is moot in as much as the video begins by stating that it is based on the book Thus the defamatory nature of the video cannot be disputed the court had said PTI SKV SA
