Wikipedia is facing mounting regulatory pressure in India, with local authorities questioning whether the platform should continue to enjoy legal protections as a neutral intermediary rather than being classified as a publisher.
India’s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday issued a notice to Wikipedia questioning the encyclopedia’s intermediary status on Indian technology platforms. The Ministry cited concerns about centralized editorial control and ongoing complaints about bias and inaccuracy on the platform.
The notice follows a contentious case in the Delhi High Court in which judges described Wikipedia’s public editing feature as “dangerous” and threatened to halt its operations in India. The court is hearing a defamation case brought by news agency Asian News International. The company is working to verify the identity of Wikipedia contributors who have reportedly characterized the news agency as a “propaganda tool” for the Indian government.
Justice Navin Chawla dismissed Wikipedia’s request for more time to respond on the grounds that it does not have a physical presence in India and warned that he would initiate contempt proceedings against the platform if it fails to comply with orders to disclose user information. “If you don’t want to comply with Indian regulations, don’t operate in India,” the judge said.
Wikipedia has argued that its volunteer editors must adhere to established policies regarding verifiable content and legal guidelines, but this defense has come under increasing scrutiny from Indian authorities concerned about the platform’s content moderation practices.
Wikimedia, the nonprofit group that operates Wikipedia, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Nikhil Pahwa, editor of MediaNama and a prominent spokesperson on technology policy, questioned the legal basis of the government’s action, arguing that India’s IT law determines platform status based on features rather than number of editors.
“You can be a platform with one user/editor, or you can be a platform with billions,” he wrote on X.
