Asian News International vs. Wikimedia Foundation

Emblem of India

Court| Delhi High Court
Court membership
Judge sitting| Navin Chawla
Keywords

* Defamation

Lawsuit against the Wikimedia Foundation

In 2024, ANI Media Private Limited, the parent company of Indian news agency Asian News International (ANI), filed a ₹2 crore (approximately US$240,000) defamation suit against the Wikimedia Foundation (WMF), over the description of ANI in the English Wikipedia article about the news agency under the Information Technology Act of 2000. The judge in the case, Navin Chawla, has threatened to order the government of India to shut down Wikipedia in the country. His order to WMF to release the identities of the editors who made the edits has been called censorship and a threat to the flow of information.

## Background

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WMF is the non-profit organization that supports Wikipedia, in multiple languages, and multiple other similar projects such as Wikimedia Commons, a repository for images in the public domain.[1] Each project is independent and largely self-governed; the Wikimedia Foundation exerts limited authority over any project, typically not becoming involved with content policy.[2][3]

Wikipedia is created and maintained completely by volunteer "editors", its term for anyone who makes as much a single typo correction on an article. Hundreds of thousands of such editors exist worldwide, and most can make changes to most articles on the website. A smaller number of editors make enough edits that they are allowed to edit nearly any article.[1] All editors are anonymous, although some voluntarily disclose their identities. Newslaundry described it as "a bulletin board with community guidelines".[3]

Wikipedia articles generally are protected if the article is experiencing a high level of vandalism or an edit-war, a series of back-and-forth reversions between two or more versions by two or more editors. Sometimes articles are protected because edits are being made by multiple editors with a conflict of interest, such as employees of an organization that is the subject of an article.[3] In 2020 the article about news agency Asian News International was edited to include content from new sources discussing the agency's record, and an edit war ensued -- involving new editors making the same changes to remove the new additions -- and the article was eventually protected.[4][3]

## Court case

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At the time of the suit's filing the Wikipedia article about ANI said the news agency had "been accused of having served as a propaganda tool for the incumbent central government, distributing materials from a vast network of fake news websites, and misreporting events on multiple occasions".[5][6][7][8] The filing accused Wikipedia of publishing "false and defamatory content with the malicious intent of tarnishing the new's agency's reputation, and aimed to discredit its goodwill".[3]

The filing argued that Wikipedia "is a platform used as public utility and as such cannot behave as a private sector".[2][9][10] It also complained that Wikipedia had "closed" the article about ANI for editing except by Wikipedia's "own editors", citing this as evidence of defamation with malicious intent and evidence that WMF was using its "officials" to "actively participate" in controlling content.[2][9][8][11][12] ANI asked for ₹2 crore (approximately US$240,000) in damages and an injunction against Wikipedia "making, publishing, or circulating allegedly false, misleading, and defamatory content against ANI".[9][3]

The case was filed under Sections 2(1)(w), 3, and 79 of the Information Technology Act (2000) in July 2024 before Justice Navin Chawla in the Delhi High Court.[9][2][10][8][7] Chawla issued a summons to WMF, called the lawsuit "a pure case of defamation" and set a hearing date of August 20.[13][12] On 20 August 2024, Chawla ordered WMF to disclose identifying details of three editors who had worked on the Wikipedia article about ANI to allow ANI to pursue legal action against them as individuals.[5][14][15] Chawla ordered WMF to provide the information within two weeks.[5]

On 5 September, ANI asked the court to find WMF in contempt when the identifying details were not released within the time frame.[5][3] Chawla issued a contempt of court order and threatened to order the government of India to block Wikipedia in the country, saying “We will not take it any more. If you don’t like India, please don’t work in India...We will close your business transactions here."[16][17][4][18] In response, Wikimedia emphasized that the information in the article was supported by multiple reliable secondary sources.[5] Chawla ordered that an "authorised representative" of WMF appear in person at the next hearing, which was scheduled for 25 October 2024.[5][15]

## Analysis

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According to Newslaundry, the sources used in the article about the news agency that are listed as supporting the sentence ANI objects to have "clear citations that lead to the primary source of information", including to The Caravan, The Ken, BBC News, EU DisinfoLab, Politico, and The Diplomat. Newslaundry and journalist Nikhil Pahwa pointed out that none of the media organizations used as sources were included in ANI's complaint.[3][10] According to The Indian Express, the lawsuit is an attempt to hold WMF liable for edits to Wikipedia.[7]

## Reaction

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Nishant Shah, professor of Global Media at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and faculty associate at Harvard's Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society, wrote that Chawla's decision to order the release of personally-identifying information was "a challenge to freedom of speech and information" and would result in the censorship of "any form of critical information that powerful organisations do not like".[14] Pahwa called it censorship that threatened to "stifle the flow of information and knowledge".[10] The Wikimedia Foundation commented on the case, stating that decisions on what to add to or change in an article are performed "by its global community of volunteer editors”, and that the foundation “does not add, edit or determine content”.[19][6]

## Previous rulings

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In 2022, India's Supreme Court dismissed defamation suits by the Ayurvedic Medicine Manufacturers Organisation of India against Wikipedia.[7] In 2023, judges involved in the court case Hewlett Packard India Sales vs. Commissioner of Customs noted that the Commissioner of Customs had referenced Wikipedia when explaining a decision.[7]

## See also

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* Censorship of Wikipedia
* Litigation involving the Wikimedia Foundation

## References

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1. ^ a b Hafner, Katie (17 June 2006). "Growing Wikipedia Refines Its 'Anyone Can Edit' Policy". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 December 2022. Retrieved 5 December 2016.
2. ^ a b c d "Delhi HC Issues Notice To Wikipedia After ANI's Plea". Outlook India. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
3. ^ a b c d e f g h "Explained: What's ANI vs Wikipedia legal battle all about?". Newslaundry. September 2024.
4. ^ a b Deep, Aroon (10 September 2024). "On ANI's defamation suit against Wikipedia | Explained". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
5. ^ a b c d e f "Delhi High Court cautions Wikipedia for non-compliance of order". The Hindu. 5 September 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
6. ^ a b Deep, Aroon (12 July 2024). "Content determined by volunteer editors, says Wikipedia parent". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
7. ^ a b c d e Khan, Khadija (10 July 2024). "Why has ANI slapped a defamation case against Wikipedia?". The Indian Express. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
8. ^ a b c Parasnis, Sharveya (10 July 2024). "ANI Sues Wikipedia for Defamation, Demands INR 2 Crore". MediaNama. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
9. ^ a b c d Thapliyal, Nupur (9 July 2024). "ANI Files Rs 2 Crore Defamation Suit Against Wikipedia Before Delhi High Court, Summons Issued". LiveLaw.in. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
10. ^ a b c d Lobo, Simone (10 October 2024). "ANI case: How Delhi HC's Wikipedia ban threat affects India". MediaNama. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
11. ^ "'Please don't work in India if...': Indian court reprimands Wikipedia for not obeying orders". WION. 5 September 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
12. ^ a b "News agency ANI files Rs 2 crore defamation suit against Wikipedia in Delhi High Court". Deccan Herald. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
13. ^ "ANI files defamation suit against Wikipedia, seeks Rs 2 cr in damages". The Siasat Daily. 9 July 2024. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
14. ^ a b Shah, Nishant (17 September 2024). "Why the case against Wikipedia in India is a challenge to freedom of speech and information". The Indian Express. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
15. ^ a b "Delhi HC issues contempt notice to Wikipedia, warns of blocking website in country". The Economic Times. 6 September 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
16. ^ Krishna, Yadav (5 September 2024). "Delhi HC warns Wikipedia over ANI defamation case, issues contempt notice". Mint.
17. ^ "ANI vs Wikipedia: The free encyclopedia's impact on India and more". The Hindu. 12 September 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
18. ^ Jha, Prashant (5 September 2024). ""Will ask government to block you": Delhi High Court issues contempt of court notice to Wikipedia". Bar and Bench. Retrieved 10 October 2024.
19. ^ "Will Indian Courts Tame Wikipedia?". The Diplomat. Retrieved 10 October 2024.

## External links

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* Explained: What's ANI vs Wikipedia legal battle all about? 2024 Newslaundry video
* Case status Delhi high court.