India To Sue Fb,Google, Yahoo Etc Over Web Content?

[BookMan]

An interesting article on possible internet censorship in India through court sanctioned means.

"India's government has authorised the prosecution of 21 internet firms, including Facebook, Yahoo! and Google, in a case over obscene content posted online, sources say.

The approval could lead to company directors being called to a trial court in New Delhi to answer serious charges such as fomenting religious hatred and spreading social discord, an official and a lawyer said"

Read more:

http://www.smh.com.au/technology/technology-news/india-to-sue-web-titans-over-obscene-content-20120114-1q05c.html

Should big companies like FB, Yahoo etc be responsible for content that they host? Are they giving people a means to create disharmony?

I imagine many countries, Thailand included, would be watching on. Could that mean that if I posted some derogatory remarks about the LOS on my FB account that FB could be sued? or maybe I could be sued one day? All food for thought.

[thaibeachlovers]

If the hosting company could be sued for content in LOS, TV would probably go out of business because of all the derogatory comments made by posters about Thailand and Thais.

It's the thin end of the wedge. Oppressive governments are soooooo scared of the internet/ social media after seeing how they aided the Arab Spring, and want to control them.

Edited January 14, 2012 by thaibeachlovers

[zzaa09]

If the hosting company could be sued for content in LOS, TV would probably go out of business because of all the derogatory comments made by posters about Thailand and Thais.

It's the thin end of the wedge. Oppressive governments are soooooo scared of the internet/ social media after seeing how they aided the Arab Spring, and want to control them.

Historically, it becomes the nature of governments [in general] to suppress info and sources of every sort - regardless of how the respective society promotes and sees itself.

[BookMan]

If the hosting company could be sued for content in LOS, TV would probably go out of business because of all the derogatory comments made by posters about Thailand and Thais.

It's the thin end of the wedge. Oppressive governments are soooooo scared of the internet/ social media after seeing how they aided the Arab Spring, and want to control them.

Historically, it becomes the nature of governments [in general] to suppress info and sources of every sort - regardless of how the respective society promotes and sees itself.

Yes, it would be hard to find examples of where that has not happened in history. Even the most democratic societies today have multiple levels of censorships.