On February 29th, in a defamation lawsuit filed by Union Minister Smriti Irani against three Congress leaders, the Delhi High Court altered the rules regarding the removal of contentious content on social media platforms. The court’s modification requires platforms like X, YouTube, and Meta to promptly remove any content deemed defamatory towards Irani and her daughter.
New Delhi, Feb 29th February – The Delhi High Court made significant amendments to a 2022 interim injunction pertaining to the defamation lawsuit filed by Union Minister Smriti Irani against three Congress leaders: Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, and Netta D’Souza. The modification specifically addresses the involvement of social media giants, including X, YouTube, and Meta, in the removal of content deemed defamatory towards Smriti Irani and her daughter.
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Originally, the court’s directive to these platforms was extensive, requiring the removal not only of specific allegations, videos, posts, tweets, and retweets but also any content deemed “similar thereto,” including manipulated images. This presented a challenge for the platforms, as it implied the need for continuous monitoring and assessment of content to ensure compliance.
Social media intermediaries sought clarification or modification, citing the impracticality of constant content monitoring and the removal of “similar” content to the identified defamatory material. In response, Justice Prateek Jalan amended the order, stipulating that if Smriti Irani identifies any content as violative of the injunction, she must first request the uploader to remove it.
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If the content persists after three days, she can then directly approach the social media platforms. Upon receiving such a request, the platforms will have three days to determine if the content indeed violates the injunction and, if so, remove it. However, if the platforms conclude that the content does not breach the order, the minister reserves the right to challenge the decision in court.
“I am not asking you to adjudicate. You have to see if something comes within the injunction order or not. If it comes within the injunction, you’ll take it down. If it does not come within it, then you refuse.”
the bench said
The case against the Congress leaders revolves around allegations leveled against Smriti Irani and her daughter regarding the operation of a restaurant in Goa, seeking both the removal of the allegedly ‘defamatory’ content and the prevention of further ‘false allegations’.
CASE TITLE: Smriti Irani vs. Pawan Khera & Ors.
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