We are an ‘aggregator’, not a ‘social media’: Google to HC

We are an ‘aggregator’, not a ‘social media’: Google to HC

Says New IT Rules Not Applicable To Its Search Engine

Abhinav.Garg@timesgroup.com

New Delhi:03.06.2021

Arguing that it is an “aggregator” and not a “social media intermediary”, Google on Wednesday moved the Delhi high court, contending that the new Information Technology rules for digital media were not applicable to its search engine as it did not fit the definition of “Significant Social Media Intermediary” (SSMI) which has been made a part of the rules mandating strict compliance.

It challenged a single judge order of HC where certain directions were issued against Google, ruling that the new rules apply to it.

A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh issued notice to the Centre, Delhi government, Internet Service Providers’ Association of India, Facebook and others on the plea by the global firm, seeking their stand.

Appearing for the company, senior advocate Harish Salve said the single judge had misinterpreted some of the provisions and wrongly applied them on the search engine. The plea urged the court to set aside a single judge order which applied the rules on the company while dealing with an issue related to removal of offending content from the internet.

While Salve sought a stay on coercive steps against Google in case the earlier order was not complied with, the bench refused to grant interim order and said it will examine the stand of the other stake-holders.

The case stems from a plea filed by a woman seeking to block offensive and objectionable content against her uploaded on a pornographic site. The single judge had directed Delhi police to ensure the offensive content was removed and directions were also issued to search engines, including Google, Yahoo and Bing, to “globally de-index and de-reference” the offending content from their search results.

It directed search engines to use automated tools, to proactively identify and globally disable access to any content which is exactly identical to the offending content, that may appear on any other websites/online platforms.

Full report on www.toi.in

A bench of the Delhi high court issued notice to the Centre, the Delhi government and Facebook seeking their stand on Google’s plea