The Supreme Court of India has once again pulled up search giants Google, Microsoft and Yahoo for the sixth time over online sex-determination ads, reports Bar and Bench. The court asked the companies to set up an in-house search mechanism to remove online search results which go counter to Section 22 of the Pre-Conception & Pre-Natal Diagnostic Techniques Act, 1994 (Act). the “In-House Expert Body” that is directed to be constituted, if not already constituted, shall on its own understanding delete anything that violates the letter and spirit of language of Section 22 of the 1994 Act and, in case there is any doubt, they can enter into a communication with the Nodal Agency appointed by the Union of India and, thereafter, they will be guided by the suggestion of the Nodal Agency of the Union of India,” the order read. Advocates representing Google, Microsoft and Yahoo opposed the order and said that in-house mechanism will not be able to monitor the entire Internet and will also open potential litigations. However, the advocates said that they were ready to comply with directions of the nodal agency. In November, the court asked the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare to set up a nodal agency to help ensure search engines do not show commercial advertisements or research material on sex determination tests online. Previously, the counsels for the search engines argued that the term advertisement should only be considered in the commercial sense and that search engine results do not count as ads, and a…
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