Centre asks Wikipedia to explain why it should be treated as intermediary, not publisher: Reports
The government that there were many complaints of biases and inaccuracies on the platform, and that a small group of people appeared to have editorial control.
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The Union government has issued a notice to online encyclopedia Wikipedia, asking it to explain why it should be treated as an intermediary rather than a publisher, PTI reported on Thursday, quoting unidentified officials.
The Centre said that there were many complaints of biases and inaccuracies in Wikipedia, and claimed that a small group of people appeared to have editorial control over the platform.
As per the Information Technology Act, intermediaries are companies that receive, store, and transmit information created by third parties, while publishers are online entities that create content. Intermediaries are not liable for third-party content that they host on their platforms, and are thus shielded from criminal action on account of any such content.
Intermediaries, however, have to “exercise due diligence and reasonable care” to ensure that their users do not post any illegal content, according to the Information Technology Rules. If the government holds that an online entity does not meet this condition, it can classify the entity as a publisher, thus removing the shield from criminal action.
Wikipedia is a free online collaborative encyclopedia edited by volunteers. It is hosted by the United States-based non-profit Wikimedia Foundation.
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