The Delhi High Court directed the Union government and social media companies to ensure that a sexually explicit video of a judicial officer is not shared, distributed, forwarded or posted on the internet, according to a report by LiveLaw. A single-judge bench comprising Justice Yashwant Varma reminded the government that there was a pressing need to take action to block the video in question over all internet service providers, messaging platforms, and social media platforms, the report added. The video appears to show a judge with a woman who is identified as his colleague, The Wire reported, adding that claims were made that the judge was allegedly “sexually exploiting” the woman. Why it matters: It is important to make a note of this order as it can set a precedent in dealing with cases concerning content moderation, especially sexually explicit videos circulated without consent. It is also a reminder that a robust mechanism is the need of the hour to help victims whose privacy has been violated when videos appear on the internet. What else do we know: The court reasoned that an “ad interim ex parte injunction” is warranted because of the “imminent, grave and irreparable harm” likely to be caused to the privacy rights of the plaintiff, according to a copy of the order reviewed by Medianama. The order also revealed that the content of the video was examined by the court which noted that the provisions of Section 354C of the Indian Penal Code, 1860, as well…
