In a landmark ruling, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed Wikipedia to remove defamatory descriptions from the Wikipedia page of Asian News International (ANI), a prominent news agency. The court’s decision also included an order to lift the ‘protection status’ on ANI’s page, which had previously restricted editing to only administrators, and barred these administrators from posting further defamatory content.
Justice Subramonium Prasad presided over the bench that heard the defamation suit filed by ANI, which has escalated into a broader debate on the responsibilities of online intermediaries. ANI’s lawsuit demanded the takedown of its Wikipedia page and a halt to the posting of what it termed defamatory content.
The legal battle highlighted issues surrounding the liability of platforms like Wikipedia when user-generated content becomes subject to legal scrutiny. Wikipedia’s counsel argued during the proceedings that the platform did not claim the contentious content was factually accurate, noting that Wikipedia’s entries are the result of open, editable collaboration and come with disclaimers stating that information is based on secondary sources.
However, the court expressed significant concerns in November, criticizing Wikipedia for its hesitation to disclose the identities of users who edited the ANI page. Justice Prasad remarked that relying on disclaimers about secondary sourcing does not exempt Wikipedia from responsibility for the content published on its site. He metaphorically compared the platform’s disclaimer to the “Kavach of Karna”—an invincible shield from the epic Mahabharata—suggesting that such a shield is ineffectual in absolving the site from accountability.
The judgment underscored the tension between user-generated content and the duty of platforms to ensure that such content does not cross into defamation. The court’s directive to remove the protection status is particularly notable, as it opens the page for editing by the wider community, potentially allowing for more balanced and accurate content representation.
