Facebook, Google, Yahoo summoned over offensive content

Around 21 Internet companies and websites, including Facebook, Microsoft, Google, Yahoo and YouTube, have been summoned to face a trial for purportedly hosting offensive content, media reports said on Friday.

Based on a complaint filed by a journalist Vinay Rai, Metropolitan Magistrate Sudesh Kumar has also directed the Indian government to take "immediate appropriate steps" and also file a report in the court by Jan 13, 2012.

"It appears from a bare perusal of the documents that prima facie the accused in connivance with each other and other unknown persons are selling, publicly exhibiting and have put into circulation obscene, lascivious content which also appears to the prurient interests and tends to deprave and corrupt the persons who are likely to read, see or hear the same," the court said.

"It is also evident that such contents are continuously openly and freely available to everyone who is using the said network irrespective of their age and even the persons under the age of 18 years have full and uncensored access to such obscene contents," it added.

The accused companies have been asked to face trial for allegedly committing the offence punishable under section 292 (sale of obscene books etc), 293 (sale of obscene objects to young person etc) and 120-B (criminal conspiracy) of the IPC.

The court noted that among the material submitted by the complainant, were obscene pictures and derogatory articles pertaining to Prophet Mohammad, Jesus Christ and various Hindu Gods and Goddesses.

The Delhi court's order comes in the wake an uproar by Internet users over a perceived move by the government to censor online content.

A New York Times report earlier this month said that Telecoms and Information Technology Minister Kapil Sibal had called executives from Internet companies, including Facebook, Twitter and Google to remove content that maligned Congress party chief Sonia Gandhi.

The move had unleashed a storm of criticism from Internet users, who complained of censorship in the world´s largest democracy even though Sibal denied he was promoting such a suppression, but said some images and statements risked fanning tensions in conservative India.