Google opposes India's internet rules

By siliconindia   |   Wednesday, 11 May 2011, 18:34 IST   |    1 Comments
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Google opposes India's internet rules
Bangalore: Access of internet was free in India, unlike the other countries like China, Singapore, Saudi Arabia etc. But now the rule has been changed and India has put restrictions on internet usage. The Department Of Information Technology Of Indian government issued new regulations on using internet. Under this if any content carries 'disparaging', 'harassing', 'blasphemous' or 'hateful' can be banned. The rules also include that the websites also are responsible for removing objectionable content within 36 hours of being notified by authorities. Google has opposed the rules and the regulation. The company told to Indian regulation that because of the restriction on the usage of internet, the rules can pose serious problem for the company, reports Wall Street Journal. Google said it was "troubled" by a provision that said an Internet company "shall not itself host or publish or edit or store" banned content. The company said such wording could expose the company to liability for material posted by third parties, potentially causing the company "great harm." According to internet companies, India is a potentially massive market and Industry groups say India already is one of the world's top Internet markets, with a user base of between 80 million to 100 million people. According to a research firm ViziSense, Google's search service was India's most popular website in March, with 56.3 million visitors. With the 14 million visitors in Google's Orkut social-networking site, it's became the India's sixth most-popular site. Facebook service was the third most-visited site, with 35.2 million users. Google also wanted removal of a provision that said an internet company must remove objectionable content after "obtaining actual knowledge by itself" of the material or after notification by authorities. Google wanted to relieve companies of the responsibility to decide what is illegal, and instead rely on a written notice from "a court of law or other legally empowered public authority." In spite of the continuous oppositions made Google against the rules, the Information Ministry has made only minor changes to it. Now we have to see how the new rules will impact the internet usage in India.

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