The Delhi High Court on Wednesday gave strict instructions to Google and Apple, saying that they should take immediate and effective action against mobile applications promoting obscene, prostitution and other criminal activities on their Play Store and App Store. The court remarked that an entire generation cannot be allowed to go to waste.
A division bench of Chief Justice Devendra Kumar Upadhyay and Justice Tejas Karia, citing the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Conduct) Rules 2021, said that the responsibility of intermediaries like Google and Apple is to conduct due diligence not only on receiving complaints but also at the time of uploading of such apps.
The bench said, given the wide reach of these apps, intermediaries will have to play an important role under the IT Rules 2021. They should not only take action on the complaint but also be alert at the time of upload. This order was given during the hearing on a public interest litigation (PIL).
The petition alleged that there are many apps available on Google Play Store and Apple App Store which promote pornographic content, immoral trafficking, prostitution, drug abuse, illegal arms trafficking and organized crime.
Petitioner’s lawyer Tanmay Mehta said that these apps are earning crores of dollars from such criminal activities. Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma supported the petition on behalf of the Central Government. He said that the government alone cannot block everything around the world, hence the role of intermediaries is extremely important.
The court directed Google, Apple and the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team to immediately stop the spread of such apps and comply with the IT Rules 2021. Also, it has been asked to file the action taken report by the next hearing (in July).