Google And Facebook Face Indian Censorship Challenges
While Google has been at odds with the Chinese establishment over web censorship, the company may face similar issues in India as well. The latest court order to social sites such as Facebook and Google to remove objectionable content may set a worrying precedent for excessive Internet regulation in the country and slow the growth of these juggernauts in some of the world’s most populous countries. [1]
See our full analysis for Google’s stock
Is “Moderate Regulation” Even an Option?
To this point, the Indian government has tried to assure users that it does not intend to censor but rather plans to “regulate” defamatory or inflammatory content about Indian leaders and/or religious matters. Mere regulation seems unfeasible, especially considering the amount of information that goes into the web daily. This leaves the ominous option of a possible screening (or banning) some content on the web, a move that would invite considerable opposition from a democratic nation like India.
Given the public outcry against such moves, the Indian establishment has softened its stance on this. However, the recent court order that applies to big names such as Google, Facebook and Yahoo highlights the risk that these companies face in India.
It would probably take a collective effort from users, websites and social networks to attempt to self-regulation on the Internet, before even harsher censorship measures come into effect.
We currently have a price estimate near $628 for Google’s stock, which is in line with the current market price.
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