Wikipedia’s trouble in India increases, government issues notice regarding content and bias

The Central Government has issued a notice to Wikipedia, popular worldwide as an online encyclopedia, regarding ‘biased and incorrect’ content. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has asked Wikipedia why it should be considered an intermediary and not a publisher.

A case was filed in the Delhi High Court in which Wikipedia has been accused of favoring users who added defamatory edits to the page of Asian News International (ANI). According to a media report, the notice given by the Ministry has raised concerns about cases of bias and incorrect information on Wikipedia’s website. This notice also questions the editorial control of this website being with some individuals. The Ministry has also asked Wikipedia why it should not be considered a publisher instead of an intermediary.

Wikipedia says that it is not a publisher because it works on a voluntary system in which users create and edit pages on various topics. Recently, the Delhi High Court had called this open editing system dangerous. After this, this notice has been issued by the Ministry. The page about the news agency ANI on Wikipedia was described as a ‘propaganda tool’ of the government. A case was filed in the court regarding this. The court had said that due to the lack of a controlled editing system on this website, damaging information can be added to the pages of public figures and entities.

Despite the court order, Wikipedia had allegedly refused to reveal the identity of the users who had edited the page. In the last few weeks, the government had also adopted a strict attitude regarding false threats of placing bombs in planes. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had issued an advisory and described the responsibility of intermediaries including social media companies as important to curb the false bomb threats being received by various airlines. The advisory said that social media intermediaries should follow the IT Act, IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules and the Indian Justice Code (BNS), 2023. Social media platforms need to immediately remove illegal content to maintain security and public order. Malicious acts such as false bomb threats to airlines are a threat to security and public order.