The Delhi high court on Wednesday asked Google and Apple to take action against mobile applications available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store that are involved in the dissemination of obscene and pornographic content, observing that it “cannot permit an entire generation of the country to be ruined”.
A bench comprising Chief Justice D K Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia observed that intermediaries such as Google and Apple are obligated to act against such applications not only after they are flagged, but also at the stage when they are uploaded on their respective app stores.
It directed Google and Apple to ensure that dissemination of such applications is immediately checked and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 are followed.
“We can’t permit the whole generation of this country to be ruined. We understand right to all kinds of freedom under article 19(1)(g) but that does not mean we allow the whole lot of our generation…Having regards to the reach of such applications, we are of the opinion that in terms of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, the intermediaries have to play the most vital role not only on receiving any such complaint but also have to exercise due diligence at the time of permitting such applications to be uploaded through them,” the court said.
It added, “We expect that having regards to the averments made in the writ petition itself, respondents 2 (Google), respondent 3 (Apple) and also respondent 4 (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) shall act strictly to ensure that dissemination of such videos is immediately checked and the 2021 Rules are followed in letter and spirit. By the next date, the action taken report in terms of the order shall also be filed.”
{{/usCountry}}It added, “We expect that having regards to the averments made in the writ petition itself, respondents 2 (Google), respondent 3 (Apple) and also respondent 4 (Indian Computer Emergency Response Team) shall act strictly to ensure that dissemination of such videos is immediately checked and the 2021 Rules are followed in letter and spirit. By the next date, the action taken report in terms of the order shall also be filed.”
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The court also issued a notice on a petition filed by Rubika Thapa, who alleged inaction on the part of Google and Apple in curbing the menace of certain mobile applications allegedly promoting and disseminating obscene, vulgar and pornographic content.
In her petition, Thapa urged the court to direct Google, Apple to remove the apps asserting that a majority of these entities do not originate from India, fail to disclose ownership or registered office details, and operate through servers located in foreign jurisdictions such as the United States, Turkey, Japan, Russia and China, making them difficult to subject to Indian law.
The petition further alleged that the “significant social media intermediaries” grossly failed in their due diligence obligations under the IT Rules, 2021.
It claimed that these platforms not only host but also actively promote such applications, thereby becoming constructively complicit in the alleged illegal activities and exposing a large and vulnerable section of the Indian population, particularly youth and adolescents, to morally and psychologically harmful content.
Thapa’s lawyer Tanmaya Mehta submitted that these applications were earning millions of dollars through such alleged criminal activity.
Additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Centre, supported the petitioner’s contention and said that strict action must be taken against such apps. He further submitted that intermediaries have a significant role in addressing the issue, as governments alone cannot go around the globe blocking everything.
The petition will be next heard on July 17.