Centre issues notice to Wikipedia over ‘bias and inaccuracies’ concerns

The government has put Wikipedia on notice with reference to complaints of bias and inaccuracies in volunteer-controlled entries in the popular and free online encyclopaedia, sources told NDTV Tuesday.

Sources said the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has pointed to a select group with editorial control and asked Wikipedia why it should not be treated as a ‘publisher’ instead of an ‘intermediary’.

The notice comes amid a legal battle in the Delhi High Court, in which news agency Asian News International, or ANI, has demanded information about users who made edits to an entry about the firm; the alleged edit referred to ANI as “the propaganda tool” of the Indian government.

On Friday, in the most recent hearing in this case, the court quizzed Wikipedia reps over its claim of being a “free encyclopaedia” and observed the website could not refuse to provide the information sought since it claims to be an ‘intermediary’ and not a ‘publisher’ of information.

“If you are an intermediary, why are you bothered? If somebody else has edited and that addition is without basis, then it comes down. They are not here to protect…” Justice Subramonium Prasad said, according to legal news website Bar and Bench. The court also noted that it was “troubling” that Wikipedia claimed to be an encyclopaedia while also warning it does not endorse its content.

To this, senior advocate Jayant Mehta, representing Wikipedia, said users of the website were warned that the information is from secondary sources. The court, though, was unimpressed with this line of argument, reasoning a mere disclaimer could not fully absolve Wikipedia of responsibility.

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