Yahoo! (YHOO) Clears Name in One of Several Delhi Court Cases
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Yahoo!’s (Nasdaq: YHOO) appeal in a Delhi High Court has proved to be successful as Indian officials have decided to drop the company’s name from an industry-wide list of allegations.
Several online search engine and social media companies have been accused of hosting and presenting controversial Web content -- content which came in violation of Indian laws. While Yahoo! succeeded in proving it wasn’t responsible for any objective material posted on its site, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Facebook (FB) are still listed in the case.
Senior advocate Arvind Nigam, appearing for Yahoo! India, stated "I am not a social networking site like other accused in the case. I only provide email and chat services. Moreover, no objectionable material has been attributed to me and hence my case is different from others."
Presenting any material which may offend a religious group or present false information on a political candidate is considered to be against the law.
Company executives may face jail time and large fines if found guilty. The trail will begin in a lower Delhi court towards the end of this month. India’s Telecom and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal noted his strict stance on the matter back in early December, stating all companies will be responsible for the actions.
There is still a separate case brought about by a different party, which Yahoo! has not been cleared from, although Microsoft successfully has. The charges in this case are similar to the case above.
These court cases follow talks between the Indian government and the internet companies in late 2011. The internet companies told the government their requests were impossible due to the massive amount of user-generated content. India has the third-largest internet user base behind China and the U.S., although less than a tenth of people use the internet.
Several online search engine and social media companies have been accused of hosting and presenting controversial Web content -- content which came in violation of Indian laws. While Yahoo! succeeded in proving it wasn’t responsible for any objective material posted on its site, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG), Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) and Facebook (FB) are still listed in the case.
Senior advocate Arvind Nigam, appearing for Yahoo! India, stated "I am not a social networking site like other accused in the case. I only provide email and chat services. Moreover, no objectionable material has been attributed to me and hence my case is different from others."
Presenting any material which may offend a religious group or present false information on a political candidate is considered to be against the law.
Company executives may face jail time and large fines if found guilty. The trail will begin in a lower Delhi court towards the end of this month. India’s Telecom and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal noted his strict stance on the matter back in early December, stating all companies will be responsible for the actions.
There is still a separate case brought about by a different party, which Yahoo! has not been cleared from, although Microsoft successfully has. The charges in this case are similar to the case above.
These court cases follow talks between the Indian government and the internet companies in late 2011. The internet companies told the government their requests were impossible due to the massive amount of user-generated content. India has the third-largest internet user base behind China and the U.S., although less than a tenth of people use the internet.
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