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An Indian courtroom has summoned Alibaba and its founder Jack Ma in a case by which a former worker in India says he was wrongfully fired after objecting to what he noticed as censorship and pretend information on firm apps, paperwork seen by Reuters confirmed.
The case comes weeks after India cited safety issues in banning Alibaba’s UC News, UC Browser and 57 different Chinese apps after a conflict between the 2 international locations’ forces on their border.
Following the ban, which China has criticised, India sought written solutions from all affected corporations, together with whether or not they censored content material or acted for any overseas authorities.
In courtroom filings dated July 20 and beforehand not reported, the previous worker of Alibaba’s UCWeb, Pushpandra Singh Parmar, alleges the corporate used to censor content material seen as unfavourable to China and its apps UC Browser and UC News showcased false information “to cause social and political turmoil”.
Civil Judge Sonia Sheokand of a district courtroom in Gurugram, a satellite tv for pc metropolis of India’s capital, New Delhi, has issued summons for Alibaba, Jack Ma and a few dozen people or firm models, asking them to look in courtroom or by a lawyer on July 29, courtroom paperwork confirmed.
The choose has additionally sought written responses from the corporate and its executives inside 30 days, in response to the summons.
UC India stated in a press release it had been “unwavering in its commitment to the India market and the welfare of its local employees, and its policies are in compliance with local laws. We are unable to comment on ongoing litigation”.
Alibaba representatives didn’t reply to requests for remark from the Chinese firm or on behalf of Jack Ma.
Parmar, who labored as an affiliate director on the UC Web workplace in Gurugram till October 2017 and is searching for $268,000 (roughly Rs. 2 crores) in damages, referred Reuters queries to his lawyer, Atul Ahlawat, who declined to remark saying the matter was sub judice.
The courtroom case is the newest hurdle for Alibaba in India after the Indian authorities’s app ban, following which UC Web has began shedding some workers in India.
Before the apps have been banned, the UC Browser had been downloaded not less than 689 million occasions in India, whereas UC News had 79.eight million downloads, most throughout 2017 and 2018, information from analytics agency Sensor Tower confirmed.
Allegations in courtroom
India has stated it banned the 59 apps after it obtained “credible inputs” that such apps posed a risk to India’s sovereignty. Its IT minister stated the choice was taken to safeguard residents’ information and public order.
In greater than 200 pages of courtroom filings, reviewed by Reuters, former worker Parmar included clippings of some posts showcased on the UC News app that he alleged have been false.
One submit from 2017 was headlined in Hindi: “2,000-rupee notes to be banned from midnight today”. Another headline of a 2018 submit stated: “Just now: War broke out between India and Pakistan” and contained description of firing throughout the disputed border between the international locations.
Reuters couldn’t independently confirm the veracity of the claims within the courtroom submitting. India didn’t ban its 2,000-rupee forex be aware and no battle occurred between India and Pakistan in 2018.
The lawsuit additionally incorporates a “sensitive words list” with key phrases in Hindi and English like “India-China border” and “Sino-India war” that the courtroom submitting alleges have been used by UC Web to censor content material on its platforms in India.
“In order to control any news related content to be published against China was automatically/manually rejected by an audit system evolved for this purpose,” the submitting stated.
The Chinese Embassy in New Delhi and China’s overseas ministry in Beijing, in addition to India’s IT ministry in New Delhi, didn’t reply to requests for remark.
© Thomson Reuters 2020
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