Google Blogger Content Removed From Certain Domains Following Warning From India
Google Inc. on Monday removed content from various blogger specific domains in India after the countries leaders warned a “China type response” if the company didn’t better censor content deemed “religiously inappropriate.”
The request comes one week after Google announced plans to censor blogger platform content in certain countries through specific URL domain protocols. For example a post may be banned in India but still show up in a country where freedom of speech is available.
Speaking about the request Google representative Paroma Roy Chowdhury noted:
“(Our) review team has looked at the content and disabled this content from the local domains of (Google) search, Youtube and Blogger.”
The dispute arose because of a law passed last year which makes companies responsible for user content posted on websites. Company’s have 36 hours to remove the content if a complaint it filed.
Facebook has also been hit with similar requests and has said they will release a statement of their own in the near future.
In the meantime a civil suit filed by an Islamic scholar on Monday requested that companies submit in writing what steps they have taken to block offensive content and submit their reports in 15 days. Google for their part has documented how they will block content in a well thought out blog post on the blogger blog.