India Court Orders 21 Websites to Remove ‘Objectionable Content’

A court in Delhi has ordered 21 very major websites — including Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, and Youtube —to remove all derogatory content by February 6. If they don’t comply, the websites will be charged with contempt of court.

And just what is this objectionable content? The complaints note online material that is “anti-religious” — obscene and derogatory pictures and articles aimed at Prophet Mohammed, Jesus Christ and various Hindu gods — and “anti-social,” which is, well, who knows.

Or in court-speak:

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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 action appears to be a direct result of a grand total of two complaints, one from a journalist and the other from the guy who runs the website fatwaonline.com.

India Orders Sites Remove Objectionable Content