Delhi High Court Calls for Review Petition from Google, Microsoft on Image Identification
The Delhi High Court has directed Google and Microsoft to file a review petition regarding its previous order that required the tech giants to identify and remove non-consensual intimate images (NCII) without specific URLs. The court recognised the companies’ claim that they do not currently possess the technology to automatically identify that kind of content.
What is the meaning of Non-Consensual Intimate Images (NCII)? These NCII are personal photos of an individual shared online without their consent by a third party.
Obstacles encountered by Tech GiantsIn the court session, lawyers representing Google and Microsoft claimed that the companies lack the capability to identify NCII automatically and delete them. While they can remove URLs from appearing on their platforms such as Google Search and Bing by de-indexing them, the solution fails in the absence of a specific URL.
The report further suggested that the bench, consisting of Acting Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, said, “This court is of the view that the appellants should file a review petition and bring these facts to the notice of the learned single judge. In the event the appellants are aggrieved by the order passed by a learned single judge in the review petitions, the appellants will be at liberty to seek revival of the present petitions.”
The court also granted the companies the liberty to seek a revival of their petitions if they remain aggrieved by the single judge’s order in the review petition. It must be noted that the previous judgment, passed on April 26, 2023, by a single-judge bench, had directed search engines to use the already existing mechanism with the relevant hash-matching technology to identify and remove NCII.
What’s Next?If Google and Microsoft file a review petition before the single-judge bench, the court has clarified that it will not be dismissed on grounds of delay. The tech companies will have the opportunity to present their case and seek a resolution based on the current technological capabilities regarding NCII detection and removal.
