Google, Yahoo, Bing must stop pre-natal test ads

NEW DELHI, INDIA: In a bid to fight increasing menace of female infanticide, the Center has urged the Supreme Court to direct search websites to withdraw and stop advertisements determining sex tests.

The initiative is a part from the Center to strictly implement India’s law on female foeticide. It must be recalled that though sex determination tests have been banned in the country since 1994, when the Pre-natal Diagnostic Techniques (Regulation and Prevention of Misuse) Act came into force, illegal sex determination clinics continue to mushroom not only in rural areas, but also large metropolitan cities.

The communication and information technology ministry in its SC affidavit submitted, “Any such intermediary, who fails to expeditiously remove or disable access to any such material, shall be liable under the provisions of the IT Act.”

The ICT ministry said that the search engines majors should adopt the same tools and technology they use to block child pornography content and religious images in other countries, in India to prevent access to advertisements providing links to pre-natal sex determination tests.

The issue was raised by a civilian, Sabu Mathew George who claimed in his petition that online advertisements are offering illegal sex test kits and displaying addresses of foreign clinics that provide assistance for the illegal act.

At a previous hearing, the Supreme Court was informed by advocate Sanjay Parikh, appearing for George that the three major Web search engines were not blocking access to advertisements on sex determination tests despite interim order passed by the top court.

In January, the Supreme Court had directed Google, Yahoo and Bing to block or filter access to websites and advertisements on foetal gender determination which violate Section 22 of the PNDT Act, Hindustan Times reported.

The three search engines are the dominant players in the Indian market with Google alone accounting for 95.29 percent of market share.

The 2011 census had revealed a skewed child sex ratio of 914 girls for every 1,000 boys, the lowest since independence and a drop from the previous figure of 933 in the 2001 census.