Wikimedia challenges India content takedown, warns of chilling effect on free speech

The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, has asked India's Supreme Court to quash its order directing the online encyclopedia operator to take down a page describing its legal dispute with a domestic news agency.

Wikimedia told the court that complying with the directive would have a "chilling effect on free speech".

Indian news agency ANI last year sued Wikimedia for defamation in the Delhi High Court over the way in which the news agency was described on the platform, which is run by a community of volunteer editors. ANI said in its lawsuit it was being described on its Wikipedia page as an agency facing criticism for being a "propaganda tool" for the government. Edits that reflected the "true and correct" position were removed by the platform, it said.


While that case is still pending, the high court in October ruled another Wikipedia page related to the legal dispute be taken down, calling it "interference in court proceedings".

In a new legal challenge against that decision, Wikimedia has told India's Supreme Court to quash the ruling, saying it infringes on its right to "host a page on court proceedings".

The challenge was filed on January 15, and has not been made public. It was reviewed and verified by Reuters on Tuesday.

"The selective and permanent takedown ... creates a chilling effect on free speech, and restricts access to knowledge," Wikimedia said in the appeal filing.

The appeal was heard by judges on Monday for the first time. The Supreme Court noted the issue involved a question "about freedom of media" and asked ANI to file a written response on the legal challenge.

ANI's lawyer Sidhant Kumar declined to comment on Wikimedia's challenge "since the matter is pending before the Supreme Court". Wikimedia did not respond to a request for comment.

Reuters, which owns a 26% stake in ANI, did not immediately respond to a request for comment. It has previously said it was not involved in ANI's business practices or operations.

Wikimedia is the second major tech platform in recent years to take legal action against content takedown orders in India. Social media platform Twitter, now known as X, is also fighting a case challenging the federal government's orders to block some posts about farmer protests in 2021.

The Supreme Court is expected to hold its next hearing on the Wikimedia case on April 4.