Microsoft and Google Challenge Delhi High Court Order on Non-Consensual Intimate Images Removal
Tech giants Microsoft and Google have approached the Delhi High Court to challenge an order mandating search engines to proactively remove non-consensual intimate images (NCII) from the internet without requiring specific URLs [Microsoft Corporation v. Union of India & Ors].
Microsoft informed a Division Bench of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora that implementing the directives from a single-judge of the Delhi High Court is technologically unfeasible and exceeds the existing legal framework.
Upon learning that Google also filed a similar appeal, likely to be listed on Thursday (May 9), the Court decided to hear both cases concurrently.
The appeals by Microsoft and Google contest a judgment issued by Justice Subramonium Prasad on April 26, 2023.
In his detailed judgment, Justice Prasad cautioned social media intermediaries that any deviation from the time-frame specified under the Information Technology Rules (IT Rules) for NCII removal could jeopardize their liability protection.
Justice Prasad asserted that search engines possess the technology to remove NCII content without necessitating victims to repeatedly approach courts or authorities for removal.
The single-judge emphasized that search engines cannot claim inability when tasked with removing or disabling access to links containing illegal content.
Representing Microsoft, Senior Advocate Jayant Mehta argued that the single-judge relied on Meta’s (Facebook’s) tool for content removal, which differs from Bing (Microsoft’s search engine) as Bing does not host any content.
Mehta highlighted the technological constraints, stating that Bing cannot execute the directives as specified. He emphasized that while Bing can remove content with provided URLs, searching and removing content from the entire database, as mandated by the order, is unfeasible.
He further noted the limitations of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in discerning between consensual and non-consensual images, rendering it impractical for AI tools to comply with the directives.
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