to-use mechanism” on its website and any user can report a video for
violation of his or her rights. In addition, a complaint form can also be filled,
which is publicly accessible. Upon receipt of any complaint, the same is
reviewed as per YouTube‟s policy and local law of every country, and the
same is acted upon. It is submitted that since defamation is a subjective
issue, and laws vary from each country, such issues are subject to the local
laws of the country where alleged defamation is complained of. It avers that
the Courts are the adjudicating authorities to decide whether the alleged
content is defamatory. Since YouTube is a dynamic platform, where videos
are uploaded every hour, no specific knowledge of the contents of videos
can be attributed to YouTube.
40.
As per Shreya Singhal (supra), a Court order has to be passed
identifying the content as being defamatory, as a claim of defamation is
especially hard to judge and only Courts of competent jurisdiction can take a
decision on the same.
41.
It is pleaded that the plaint does not disclose a cause of action as the
ingredients required for a defamation action are not satisfied. It is further
pleaded that the injunction sought is vague and broad, as an order is being
sought in respect of “other active URLs/links which contain or purport to
contain, the infringing or disparaging Video…”. Such an order would be
contrary to Shreya Singhal (supra). Further, injunction is being sought
“across the globe.” It is pleaded that an order in such terms is beyond the
territorial jurisdiction of this Court. Since every Court has its own standards
for freedom of speech and expression, the order of the Court cannot be
enforced beyond Indian borders. Such an order would expose the
Defendants to liability for censoring content in various countries, which
CS (OS) 27/2019
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