Indian court asks YouTube to share user's IP address, identity in defamation case

YouTube has landed itself in hot water in India.

India’s Madras High Court directed YouTube and Google to share with the government details of a user who uploaded and published a questionable video. But YouTube is resisting the order, stating that revealing IP address and other details of an individual, could in turn subject it to legal actions by the user, according to a report on Times of India.

The video, posted by one Marupakkam Seithigal, was flagged as defamatory by a private company Lebara Foundation. Addressing the direction of the court, YouTube blocked access to the URL of the video in India, but added that since the IP address of the user has been registered outside the Indian jurisdiction, YouTube cannot remove the video.

The Indian court disagrees. "We are of the view that the minimum which is required to be done when the portal is used for materials which are prima facie offensive is to disclose the identity and IP address in pursuance of the direction passed by the single judge of the court. Instead, YouTube and Google want Lebara to go through a circuitous route which is not necessary," the first bench said.

But the bench also raises a reasonable point. "In our view, YouTube and Google are being unnecessarily apprehensive about the possibility of legal proceedings being initiated against them by the undisclosed Marupakkam, as certainly the agreement (with Marupakkam) does not contain a term that there would be no disclosure of information even if directed by the court," the bench concluded.

Indeed, on company’s privacy policy page, YouTube states, "We will share personal information … outside of Google if we have a good-faith belief that … disclosure of the information is reasonably necessary to … meet any applicable law, regulation, legal process or enforceable governmental request."

YouTube is also not cutting access to the questionable video from outside India stating that it amounts to "monitoring of content" online, something Google and YouTube don’t do. Mashable India reached out to Google, but the company declined to comment.