Stay clean or else we will block you… Why did the High Court give such a strict warning to Wikipedia

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday issued a stern warning to Wikipedia. The court said that if it does not follow the laws of India, the website will be blocked. Along with this, the court also served a notice to Wikipedia for contempt of court. News agency ANI had filed a defamation case against Wikipedia, accusing the platform of calling the news agency a propaganda tool of the government. Along with the demand to remove the content, ANI has also sought damages of Rs 2 crore.

‘If you don’t like India, don’t work here’
The judge told Wikipedia’s lawyer that I will enforce contempt, this is the first defendant [विकिपीडिया] There is no question of not having an entity in India. We will stop your business transactions here. We will ask the government to block Wikipedia, you people have made this argument before as well. If you don’t like India, please don’t work in India. Wikipedia did not reveal the details of the three member accounts that made edits to ANI’s page.

Wikipedia’s argument and ANI’s response
The court’s warning came after Wikipedia’s counsel argued that the company was not based in India and sought time to make further submissions instead of complying with the court’s earlier order. Issuing a notice of contempt on a plea filed by ANI, the Delhi High Court directed Wikipedia to ensure that its authorised representative appears in person on October 25, the next date of hearing.

The news agency has sought an order restraining the online portal from allowing the allegedly defamatory edited content to remain on the page about ANI on Wikipedia and its removal along with compensation of Rs 2 crore. ANI has argued that the content in the description is defamatory and Wikipedia, an intermediary, is a platform used as a public utility and thus cannot behave as a private sector firm.