Editors Guild says court orders directing media platforms to remove content on Adani 'concerning'
New Delhi (PTI): Several journalists and content creators said they have received notices from YouTube and the government regarding the removal of "unverified and ex facie defamatory" content related to Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) following a court order, a development termed "troubling" by the Editors Guild of India.
The Guild voiced "deep concern" over the recent order of a Delhi court that restrained nine journalists, activists and entities from publishing or circulating "unverified, unsubstantiated and ex facie defamatory" reports about AEL, and directed the removal of such content within five days.
"More disturbingly, the order further empowers the corporate entity to keep forwarding URLs and links of any content it considers defamatory to intermediaries or government agencies, who are then obliged to remove such content within 36 hours," the Guild said in a statement here.
The Guild termed "equally troubling" the action by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which issued notices to platforms including YouTube and Instagram, ordering the removal of more than 138 links and 83 posts, respectively.
"This extension of executive power has effectively given a private corporation powers to determine what constitutes defamatory content regarding their affairs, which extends the power to order content takedown," it said.
The Guild is concerned that such blanket powers granted to a corporate entity, coupled with ministerial action in issuing takedown directions, are a step towards censorship, the statement said.
"A free and fearless press is indispensable to democracy. Any system that allows private interests to unilaterally silence critical or uncomfortable voices poses a serious risk to the public's right to know," the Guild said.
Satirist Akash Banerjee, who runs the YouTube channel 'Deshbhakt', said he and other independent YouTubers were given 36 hours to remove more than 200 pieces of content without any opportunity to contest the order.
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Six foreign nationals held for alleged prostitution in Bengaluru
Bengaluru (PTI): Six foreign women were arrested after they were found to be allegedly engaged in illegal activities by soliciting men in a public place for prostitution, police said on Tuesday.
The arrests were made by the Women Protection Wing of the Central Crime Branch (CCB) on April 24, they said.
Police, however, have not disclosed the nationalities of the women in the statement.
According to police, the operation was carried out following a tip off that some foreign women were standing near the footpath of the bus stop close to Madiwala Check Post, within the jurisdiction of Koramangala Police Station here and were soliciting men passing by on the road for prostitution.
Based on this information, the officers and staff of the CCB Women Protection Wing immediately visited the spot and conducted a verification, they said.
During the operation, it was found that six foreign women were engaging in illegal activities by soliciting men in a public place for prostitution, a statement issued by the office of the police commissioner stated.
Acting swiftly, the officers and staff conducted a raid and secured all six foreign women. Upon inquiry regarding their passports and visas, they failed to provide valid and satisfactory information, it said.
"Subsequently, all six foreign women were produced before the Koramangala Police Station along with a report for further legal action. In this regard, a case has been registered at Koramangala Police Station, and further investigation is in progress," the police statement added.
