In the latest case of a government tightening the reins on the online flow of ideas and information, Google India has agreed to take down Web pages considered offensive by Indian political and religious leaders, stoking censorship fears in the world's largest democracy.
The removal order announced Monday resulted from a court case and follows weeks of aggressive government pressure on 22 Internet giants to remove photographs, videos or text considered "anti-religious" or "anti-social."
Warning that their sites might be blocked "like in China,'' a New Delhi judge gave Facebook, Google and the other sites two weeks to present further plans for policing their networks, according to Indian press reports.
A Google spokesperson, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Monday that while the company recently declined a request by a government minister to pre-screen content considered politically or religiously offensive,
Google now faced a court order and had no choice but to follow it. Google would not release details about what content it had taken down or explain how it planned to respond to the government's demand for a self-policing action plan.
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