2 weeks Ago By Kamya Pandey
The Supreme Court of India has set aside the Delhi High Court’s order instructing the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs the digital encyclopedia Wikipedia, to take down a page on its site about the news agency Asian News International (ANI), according to a LiveLaw report. This comes after the Delhi High Court ruled in ANI’s favor earlier this month, directing Wikipedia to remove allegedly defamatory content about the news agency from its website.In a hearing on April 17, the Supreme Court noted that the High Court’s directions to remove all false, misleading, and defamatory content were too broadly worded.
However, the Supreme Court has allowed ANI to file a fresh application before the High Court to seek an injunction on specific pieces of content on the Wikipedia page.What is the case about?In July 2024, ANI filed a defamation suit against Wikipedia over an entry on the company’s Wikipedia page. The entry stated that ANI “has been accused of having served as a propaganda tool for the incumbent central government, distributing materials from a vast network of fake news websites, and misreporting events.
” Other allegedly defamatory passages suggested that the news agency mistreated employees and falsely accused Muslims of sexual assault during the violence in Manipur in 2023. The company demanded Rs 2 crores in damages.On April 2, the Delhi High Court sided with ANI and ordered the takedown of these defamatory comments.
The court also directed Wikipedia to remove the ‘protected status’ it had placed on the ANI page, which prevented users from editing it.While Wikipedia appealed this order, on April 8, the Delhi High Court refused to stay its previous directions to take down the allegedly defamatory content. However, it agreed to stay the direction to remove the page’s protected status.
Delhi High Court’s stance on the defamation case:In the April 8 hearing, the court stated that Wikipedia and other encyclopedias should remain neutral instead of taking a stance, as people use them for academic references. The Delhi High Court mentioned that, upon reviewing the website, it found substantial content containing allegations against ANI. “The capturing of such content, especially on a platform like Wikipedia, could have a great impact on readers and users,” it added.
Wikipedia has maintained that it is an intermediary and not the author of the ANI page. ANI, on the other hand, argues that since Wikipedia claims intermediary status, it cannot contest the court’s order on its merits, as per the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.Also read:ANI Sues Wikipedia for Defamation, Demands INR 2 CroreDelhi HC Orders Wikipedia To Take Down Defamatory Edits On ANI PageDelhi HC Refuses To Stay Takedown Order Against WikipediaThe post Supreme Court Reverses Delhi HC’s Defamatory Content Takedown Order on Wikipedia’s ANI Page appeared first on MEDIANAMA.
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