Social networks battling censorship bids in India

India is the second-largest market for social networking sites. Delhi High Court has observed in recent cases that some such sites have been used in ways which have insulted public and political personalities, among others.

Recently, the central government granted sanction to prosecute around 21 companies, including 10 foreign companies. The Department of Information Technology had placed a detailed report before a Delhi court, after which the court directed the Ministry of External Affairs to have summonses served on the companies, which include Google, Facebook and Yahoo!

The court observed that offences punishable under sections 292 (sale of obscene books, etc.), 293 (sale, etc., of obscene objects to a young person) and 120B (criminal conspiracy) of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, could be made out against the accused websites/companies.

Naik Naik & Co, founded by Ameet Naik, is a full-service law firm with specific focus on entertainment, real estate, retail and technology. It has three offices in Mumbai and two in New Delhi. Madhu Gadodia (madhuchaudhary@nnico.com) is a partner and Ravi Suryawanshi (ravisuryawanshi@nnico.com) is a senior associate at the firm.