New IT Rules Not Applicable to Its Search Engine, Google Tells HC

Google on Wednesday, 2 June, told the Delhi High Court that the new Information Technology (IT) laws for digital media were not applicable to its search engine.

(Photo Courtesy: IANS)

Google on Wednesday, 2 June, told the Delhi High Court that the new Information Technology (IT) laws for digital media did not apply to its search engine.

Google asked the Delhi HC to set aside a single-judge bench order, which sought to apply the new rules on the company while dealing with an issue related to the removal of offensive content from the Internet, reported news agency PTI.

The company contended that the 20 April judgment, "mischaracterised" its search engine as a ''social media intermediary'' or ''significant social media intermediary'' as provided under the new IT rules.

However, the court said that it was not going to issue any interim order at this stage.

Earlier, in April, a single-judge bench order had come while dealing with a matter, in which a woman’s photographs had been uploaded on a pornographic website by some miscreants and, despite court orders, the content could not be entirely removed from the search engine as errant parties continued to re-post the same photos on their pages.

“The single judge has misinterpreted and misapplied the New Rules 2021 to the appellant’s search engine. Additionally, the single judge has conflated various sections of the IT Act and separate rules prescribed thereunder, and has passed template orders combining all such offences and provisions, which is bad in law (sic),” Google said in its appeal against the 20 April judgment.

(With inputs from PTI)