“It will tell us whether India lives in the era of the internet"
Wikipedia is embroiled in a major legal battle in India and according to experts, it could impact how the online encyclopaedia functions in the country.
The battle stems from a Rs. 20 million (£180,000) lawsuit filed by Asian News International (ANI) for allegedly publishing defamatory content against it.
In the lawsuit, ANI said a paragraph in its description on Wikipedia falsely accuses it of being “a propaganda tool for the incumbent [federal] government” and of “distributing material from fake news websites” and demanded the page be taken down.
Wikipedia says the content on the website is completely managed by volunteers and that the Foundation has no control over it.
In August 2024, the Delhi High Court ordered Wikipedia to disclose who made these allegedly defamatory edits to the ANI page – and threatened to shut down the website if it didn’t comply with its orders.
The hearing continues but Wikipedia has since agreed to share basic information about the users in a sealed cover to the court, though it’s not clear what that would be.
Technology law expert Mishi Choudhary said:
“It will tell us whether India lives in the era of the internet, where information is truthful and free for everybody to access.”
The hearing began in July 2024 after ANI petitioned the court, saying it had tried to change the allegedly defamatory material on Wikipedia but its edits were not accepted.
The ANI page was put under “extended confirmed protection” – a Wikipedia feature used to stop vandalism or abuse – where only users who have already done a certain number of edits can make changes to a page.
In its lawsuit, ANI demanded that the allegedly defamatory content be taken down. But it has not sued the news reports that are cited on the Wikipedia page.
Wikipedia argued that despite being a community-driven platform, it had a robust fact-checking system.
In court, the Wikimedia Foundation said that it only provided technical infrastructure and had no relationship with the volunteers who manage content on the website.
But this model came under scrutiny after a page on the ongoing court case appeared on Wikipedia. The court subsequently ordered it to be taken down saying it interfered with court proceedings.
The page has since been suspended.
Observers say this is probably the first time that a Wikipedia page in the English language has been taken down after a court order.
According to experts, the case’s outcome is likely to have significant ramifications for the platform’s operations in India.
Tech journalist and digital rights expert Nikhil Pahwa is concerned that the case may encourage more people and brands to start controlling their Wikipedia pages.
He said:
“Many people do not like how they have been portrayed on Wikipedia.”
“Now anyone can file a case, ask for identification of editors and the court might grant it without any preliminary determination of whether there was defamation.”
Choudhary said the case could have a “chilling effect” on free speech as editors might hesitate to write truthful content.
She added that any form of self-censorship could also seriously hamper access to neutral information about a subject on the platform.
In India, experts say Wikipedia is one of the few organisations that has pushed back against the federal government’s orders to take down content.
But a ban could derail its operations in the country.
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