Centre issues notice to Wikipedia after complaints of bias, inaccuracies
The Indian government has sent a formal notice to Wikipedia, citing bias and inaccuracies on the platform. The notice also emphasized that editorial control is limited to a few. Further, the government questioned if Wikipedia should be considered a publisher instead of an intermediary. This comes after a September ruling by the Delhi High Court, which criticized Wikipedia's open editing model over risks of defamatory content.
Wikipedia's open editing model under scrutiny
Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia that lets volunteers create and edit pages on any topic, is facing legal troubles in India. The platform has been accused of providing inaccurate and potentially defamatory content. The Delhi High Court's September ruling termed Wikipedia's open editing feature 'dangerous,' in a defamation case filed by a news agency against the platform.
Wikipedia defends its editing policies
Addressing the court's concerns, Wikipedia's lawyers assured that users are required to follow legal guidelines while creating or updating content. The platform stressed that it has set policies to regulate user contributions and ensure compliance with the law. Since its launch in the early 2000s, Wikipedia has come a long way, hosting over 56 million articles in over 300 languages.
