Wikipedia is dealing with mounting regulatory stress in India as native authorities query whether or not the platform ought to proceed to get pleasure from authorized protections as a impartial middleman slightly than being labeled as a writer.
The Indian Ministry of Info and Broadcasting issued a discover to Wikipedia on Tuesday questioning the encyclopedia’s middleman standing that’s supplied to tech platforms in India. The ministry cited issues about concentrated editorial management and chronic complaints about bias and inaccuracies on the platform.
The discover follows a contentious case within the Delhi Excessive Court docket, the place judges have described Wikipedia’s open modifying characteristic as “harmful” and threatened to droop its operations in India. The courtroom is listening to a defamation case introduced by information company Asian Information Worldwide, which seeks to determine Wikipedia contributors who allegedly characterised the information company as a “propaganda device” for India’s authorities.
Justice Navin Chawla had dismissed Wikipedia’s plea for extra time to reply as a consequence of its lack of bodily presence in India, warning of initiating contempt proceedings towards the platform if it did not adjust to orders to reveal person data. “If you happen to don’t need to adjust to Indian rules, then don’t function in India,” the decide said.
Wikipedia has maintained that its volunteer editors should adhere to its established insurance policies concerning verifiable content material and authorized pointers, although this protection has confronted growing scrutiny from Indian authorities involved concerning the platform’s content material moderation practices.
Wikimedia, the non-profit group that operates Wikipedia, didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
Nikhil Pahwa, editor of MediaNama and a outstanding voice on expertise coverage, questioned the authorized foundation of the federal government’s transfer, arguing that India’s IT regulation determines platform standing based mostly on operate slightly than the variety of editors.
“You is usually a platform with one person/editor or a billion,” he wrote on X.
