Back in its early days, Google created its motto – Do No Evil. There are those who might say they’ve ignored that by handing over personal data on users in China, leading to prison sentences. Those same critics will doubtless be ready to level those charges again after Google has handed over details of 22-year-old IT consultant, Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid to Indian police.
It happened after Vaid posted a supposedly offensive comment on Google’s Orkut social network. In a forum he wrote “I hate Soniya Gandhi.” Police asked Google for his personal information and they complied. Police then raided his house to arrest him last Friday and charged him with breaking section 292 of the Indian Penal Code and section 67 of the Information Technology Act. If found guilty, he could face five years in prison.
Under Indian law, Google isn’t responsible for postings on forums it hosts, but those who upload comments deemed as vulgar can be.
