Centre issues notice to Wikipedia over 'bias and inaccuracies' concerns

The Central government has issued a notice to Wikipedia, citing complaints of bias and inaccuracies. This follows a Delhi High Court ruling questioning the platform's editorial practices

The Central government has issued a notice to Wikipedia, highlighting several complaints regarding bias and inaccuracies on its platform. The notice questions why Wikipedia should not be considered a publisher rather than merely an intermediary.

 

According to a communication from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, there is a perception that a limited group holds editorial control over the content on the site. 

 

This notice follows a September ruling by the Delhi High Court, which described Wikipedia's open editing feature as "dangerous". The court's comments came during a defamation lawsuit brought by a news agency against the platform, with judges expressing concern that “anyone” could modify a Wikipedia page. The court emphasised the potential risks of unrestricted editing, especially concerning sensitive information related to individuals or organisations.

 

The Wikipedia-ANI case

In September, the Delhi High Court issued a contempt notice to Wikipedia for failing to disclose information about users responsible for allegedly defamatory edits to news agency ANI’s page on the site.

 

Justice Navin Chawla warned that Wikipedia’s operations in India could be suspended if it did not comply with the court's orders. During the proceedings, he stated, “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... You’ve made this argument before. If you don’t want to comply with Indian regulations, then don’t operate in India."

 

The case pertains to certain edits on ANI’s Wikipedia page, which led the news agency to file a defamation lawsuit against the platform. The court had previously instructed Wikipedia to provide details about three individuals responsible for those edits.

 

The lawsuit claimed that the defamatory changes on ANI’s page described the news agency as a “propaganda tool” for the current government. Following this, ANI submitted a contempt application to the High Court, alleging that Wikipedia had not adhered to the court's earlier directive.

 

Wikipedia argued that it required additional time to respond to the order, citing its lack of a physical presence in India. However, Justice Chawla remarked that this argument had already been dismissed and warned that the court would initiate contempt proceedings if the platform continued to disregard the order.

Wikipedia: Legal troubles in India

Wikipedia promotes itself as a free online encyclopedia where volunteers can create and edit entries on a wide range of topics, including notable figures and current issues. The widely used online information source is currently facing legal challenges in India due to claims of providing inaccurate and defamatory content.

 

“Anyone can edit Wikipedia's text, references, and images. What is written is more important than who writes it. The content must conform to Wikipedia's policies, including being verifiable by published sources. Editors' opinions, beliefs, personal experiences, unreviewed research, libellous material, and copyright violations will not remain. Wikipedia’s software allows easy reversal of errors, and experienced editors watch and patrol bad edits,” it explains on the site.

 

(With agency inputs)