Government Issues Notice to Wikipedia Over Bias, Editorial Control Concerns: Report

Wikipedia was issued a notice by the government over concerns of “bias and inaccuracy” on the website, according to a report. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting contacted the free encyclopaedia, questioning why the platform should be treated as an intermediary and not as a publisher. The government notice comes amid the ongoing case in the Delhi High Court where the online encyclopaedia faces allegations of protecting users who added defamatory edits on the page of Asian News International (ANI).

Wikipedia Receives Notice From Ministry of Information and Broadcasting

According to a report in The Economic Times, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting raised several concerns including the instances of bias and inaccuracies on the website as well as the editorial control being concentrated in the hands of a few persons.

Additionally, the ministry also asked the online encyclopaedia why it should not be treated as a publisher instead of an intermediary, as per the report. Wikipedia does not classify itself as a publisher and instead says it operates on a volunteering system where users create, edit, and manage pages across a diverse range of topics.

The notice was issued after the Delhi High Court recent called the open editing system of the platform “dangerous”. Notably, the court was hearing a case where the Wikipedia page about the news agency ANI was described as a “propaganda tool” of the government. The court remarked that the unrestricted nature of the edit feature of the platform could potentially lead to harmful information being added to the pages of public figures and entities.

Despite an order by the court, Wikipedia reportedly refused to provide the names of the users who had made the alleged edits to the page. Meanwhile, the legal representatives of the online encyclopaedia have asserted that the users with edit access must adhere to the established policies about verifiable content as well as legal guidelines.