Display grievance officer’s name: HC to FB and Google
25 Aug 2013 5:21 AM IST
The Delhi high court on Friday directed Google Inc and Facebook to display on their websites the name and contact details of grievance officer to deal with complaints. The court was hearing a Public Interest Litigation filed by former Bharatiya Janata Party ideologue K N Govindacharya, who has alleged in his petition that various foreign websites were flouting rules in India.
He has said in his petition that the websites have no mechanism for protection of children from online abuse. A bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru, hearing the PIL, said, ‘They cannot flout the law just because they are a foreign company’.
The court said that the Information Technology (Intermediaries) Rules mandate that all social networking sites have to publish the name of grievance officer and his contact detail. ‘Just because you are a foreign company, you cannot flout the law. Like us, you are bound by the rule of law of this country,’ said the court asking the central government to take steps to ensure that the social networking sites comply with the rules. The court also sought the response of the central government on Govindacharya’s allegation that Delhi Police, Indian Railways and others have created accounts on social networking sites despite government departments being barred from doing so under the law.
He has said in his petition that the websites have no mechanism for protection of children from online abuse. A bench comprising of Acting Chief Justice B D Ahmed and Justice Vibhu Bakhru, hearing the PIL, said, ‘They cannot flout the law just because they are a foreign company’.
The court said that the Information Technology (Intermediaries) Rules mandate that all social networking sites have to publish the name of grievance officer and his contact detail. ‘Just because you are a foreign company, you cannot flout the law. Like us, you are bound by the rule of law of this country,’ said the court asking the central government to take steps to ensure that the social networking sites comply with the rules. The court also sought the response of the central government on Govindacharya’s allegation that Delhi Police, Indian Railways and others have created accounts on social networking sites despite government departments being barred from doing so under the law.
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