Google: No censorship of content in India

Google is not game for any editorial roles in India, reports PTI. This means that any objectionable content on its network will not be censored by Google, but will only address complaints to remove it within a specified time frame, between 10 minutes to 24 hours.

Google India Managing Director Shailesh Rao says:

“Google does not censor. It is unlikely that we will take a proactive role (in controlling content). Google should not play an editorial role… But once objectionable content is found out on the site, the timeline to remove objectionable content is anywhere between 10 minutes and 24 hours.”

The frontier of content publishing is vast and will always create some sort of debate or discussions – good, bad, ugly. Because of this, Google does not want to be in charge of setting the “right” rules or the extent of freedom of speech permissible in India.

Rao adds:

“It is amazing how much dialogue and engagement and discussions on an ongoing basis can resolve issues and misunderstandings.”

What is Censorship by Google?

Removal or omission of information from its services in order to comply with local governments’ censorship laws or with the company’s policies.

Content censorship depends from county to country…

For example:

• In Germany, Google censors certain Nazi websites like Stormfront.org.
• In the US, Google censors sites containing child pornography, Google’s Sergey Brin stated.
• In China, Google also censors human rights groups, like HRW.org (Human Rights Watch), but many other things as well, like Taiwan independence, names of current and past presidents, names of locations, historical events and so on.

Government concerns in India

With Google Earth (a downloadable application) users can access database of satellite photographs that have been stitched together.

• The government had drawn up a list of places it considers sensitive, which is expected to include military bases and government buildings.
• The government is worried over detailed images of sites as nuclear power plants, official buildings and the offices of security services.

Google would continue to talk to the Indian Government about any security concerns it may have regarding Google Earth.