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Google, Facebook Fight Offensive Content Lawsuit in India
Facebook and Google, which are facing a lawsuit in India for allegedly hosting offensive content, are fighting back in a case that has fired up a debate over Internet censorship in democratic India. The two Web giants have asked the Delhi High Court to halt the case, noting that it is impossible for them to pre-screen and monitor all content before it is posted online, according to reports. The companies are among 21 whose top executives were ordered by a lower court to appear in court…for allegedly hosting content deemed to be objectionable...During a hearing...Delhi High Court Justice…said India may follow China's lead and block Web sites if they fail to develop a mechanism that allows them to monitor and remove offensive content from their sites. Google…argued that…“The issue relates to a constitutional issue of freedom of speech and expression [which]…separates...[India] from a totalitarian regime like China,..."…Facebook…said...[it] cannot "single out" individual users on the basis of religion…[also refers to Yahoo!, Microsoft, YouTube (part of Google)]