Digital India Seeks ‘Safe Harbour’
Prashant Reddy T., Sumathi Chandrashekaran · Oxford University Press eBooks · 2017
This chapter narrates the evolution of a safe harbour provision for internet intermediaries under Indian law. The creation of such safe harbour is crucial for the growth of both internet service providers and online service providers like YouTube. The lack of a balanced safe harbour provision has led to the shutdown of start-ups which had immense potential. A judgment of the Delhi High Court in 2011 further muddied the waters for internet intermediaries. It took an amendment in 2012 for the creation of a very strong safe harbour provision. At the same time, however, there have been concerns that the new safe harbour places too high a burden on copyright owners by requiring them to secure a court order every time they want to take down content. This chapter also explores the manner in which Indian courts have issued ‘John Doe’ orders blocking websites allegedly hosting copyright infringing content.