Next Google, Facebook hearing moved to February 2

Google, Facebook, among several other social networking sites who're at present being questioned for the nature of the content posted on their sites, now have a breather till February 2, Times of India reports. The Delhi High Court has adjourned their petition hearing till early next month. Both Google and Facebook approached the High court, after the lower court challenged their executives by issuing summons. The social networking sites versus the Government of India is the latest court case in recent times to have caught on so much. Social networking has been a growing trend in the country, with the youth spending a considerable chunk of their time browsing, communicating and sharing ideas on it. 

Awaiting a decision (Image credit: Getty Images)

As many as 21 social networking sites, including the popular ones like Facebook and Google have been under the scanner of the government for the supposedly objectionable content posted on their sites, be it in the form of posts, images, videos, et al. A lower court had initially called for the executives of all the 21 companies to appear before them on March 13, 2012. Over the course of the hearing, several interesting facets surrounding the nature of the law in the country have surfaced.

Reports, early this week, suggested that representatives of Google and Facebook stated categorically that they were not responsible for the content that went up on their sites, but the individual users were. Most importantly, it was stated that there was no way the companies could screen the content before it went live. In one of our earlier reports, we had carried the quotes of Google's counsel, Neeraj Kishan Kaul who stated that, "The search engine only takes you till the website. What happens after that is beyond a search engine's control. If you use blocks, which is very easy for people to say, you will inadvertently block other things as well. For example: the word 'sex'. Even a government document like a voter ID list or a passport has the word 'sex'."