Google Directed by Court to remove YouTube Videos Defaming Spices of Country

Internet search engine Google has been directed by the Delhi High Court to remove or block videos from YouTube that try to target certain brands by spreading misinformation about Indian spices. The two defendants who allegedly uploaded these videos were declared ex parte by the court as they did not attend the hearing.

The High Court said that it is convinced that by making and uploading such videos, the defendants have made a deliberate attempt to defame and malign the goods bearing the ‘catch’ mark of the plaintiff. Justice Sanjeev Narula said, “The comments received on these YouTube videos show that people are getting influenced by them and believing such misinformation. This is causing great harm to the plaintiffs. Access to these videos is easy and without any Given the restricted access, there is a possibility that defamatory videos may be seen being shared by a large number of people with no knowledge of the actual situation.”

Google The learned counsel told the court that action was taken against the three videos in pursuance of an earlier direction of the court and they are not available for viewing. The High Court noted that the two defendant channels (TYR and Views NNews) had uploaded videos with malicious intent making defamatory and false comments against the country’s spices, particularly ‘Catch’ brand of the plaintiff. The firm running this brand had said that it has a large clientele and maintains high standards for the quality and hygiene of its spices.

The plaintiff had appealed to the court after coming to know about the videos giving wrong information about the spices of the country and targeting the brands related to the spices business. He said that these videos were shown with a voiceover and contained derogatory and false information about spices. The court has given a decision in favor of the plaintiff in this case.

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