SC rap on sex-test ads

IN Media Watch Briefs | 16/11/2016

On Nov 16 the apex court came down hard on online advertisements for pre-natal sex determination kits and directed the Centre to set up a nodal agency to address the problem. If there were any complaints in this regard, intermediaries such as a Google or a Yahoo would have to take down the content within 36 hours, the SC said, reports IndiaToday.in. Search engines like Google, Yahoo and Microsoft, against whom a PIL was filed on this issue, pleaded that they were mere aggregators and would therefore find it difficult to monitor all online content. However, the apex court’s order is in consonance with the Intermediary Guidelines under the Information Technology Act, 2000, which says that intermediaries would have to take down content deemed to be “offensive” under the law within 36 hours of receiving a complaint. And given the often bizarre takedown requests, few would quarrel with blocking ads for sex determination tests.

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