A Mumbai court in Mumbai has sent a legal notice to Google CEO Sundar Pichai because of YouTube not following a previous court order. The Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate's Court in Ballard Pier issued the notice, after YouTube repeatedly failed to comply with a March 2022 order to remove the objectionable video "Pakhandi Baba ki Kartut."
The court’s notice is about a specific video that was offensive to the founder of a group called Dhyan Foundation, and therefore the court had instructed YouTube to remove this video. Even though the video has been removed in India, it can still be accessed in other countries.
Because of this, the judge has asked Sundar Pichai why he shouldn’t face consequences for not following the court's orders.
The Dhyan Foundation claims that Google is intentionally damaging the reputation of their founder, Yogi Ashwini. The next court hearing for this matter is scheduled for January 3, 2025.
YouTube has millions of users around the world, and videos can spread quickly, which often leads to criticism of the platform. Despite having strict rules, harmful content sometimes slips through.
In response to the allegations, YouTube has claimed immunity as an intermediary under the Information Technology (IT) Act. The platform argues that defamation does not fall within the categories of content listed in Section 69-A of the Act, which permits blocking content.
However, the court dismissed this claim, clarifying that the IT Act does not prohibit criminal courts from intervening in such cases.
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