Wikipedia is embroiled in a major legal battle in India that experts say could impact how the online encyclopaedia functions in the country. The battl

Why Wikipedia has landed in legal trouble in India

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2024-10-31 05:30:03

Wikipedia is embroiled in a major legal battle in India that experts say could impact how the online encyclopaedia functions in the country.

The battle stems from a 20m rupee ($237,874; £183,012) lawsuit filed by India’s largest newswire service against Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, for allegedly publishing defamatory content against it.

In the lawsuit in the Delhi high court, Asian News International (ANI) said a paragraph in its description on Wikipedia falsely accuses it of being "a propaganda tool for the incumbent [federal] government” and of "distributing material from fake news websites" and demanded the page be taken down.

In August, the court ordered Wikipedia to disclose who made these allegedly defamatory edits to the ANI page - and threatened to shut down the website if it didn't comply with its orders.

The hearing is still on, but Wikipedia has since agreed to share basic information about the users in a sealed cover to the court, though it's not clear what that would be.