Delhi HC criticises Wikipedia for ‘opinionated’ page on ANI, upholds order to take down content

On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court criticised Wikipedia for its “opinionated” page on news agency Asian News International, saying that it must stay neutral rather than sound like an online blog, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Rajneesh Kumar Gupta was hearing a petition filed by Wikimedia Foundation, which runs the free online encyclopaedia, against a single-judge order from April 2 directing it to remove allegedly defamatory content about the news agency from its page.

“Let’s be honest, we all refer to Wikipedia,” Bar and Bench quoted the bench as saying on Tuesday. “I recall very clearly that when children are in high school, you can look at Wikipedia and teach children about it.”

The court noted that an encyclopaedia had to be neutral. “Wikipedia is doing a great service that way,” Bar and Bench quoted the order as saying. “If you start taking sides like this, then it becomes like any other blog.”

If Wikipedia says it is an intermediary, it cannot challenge a court’s decision on merits, it added.

“Under IT Rules, their job is only to give effect to what the court of law directs,” it said. “You cannot defend it on merits. If you are an intermediary and the court directs you to take down, you cannot even...

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