NEW DELHI (INDIA) – A court in India has summoned Alibaba and its founder Jack Ma in a case in which a former staff in the country was wrongfully terminated after objecting to what he saw as censorship and fake news on apps of the firm.
This comes weeks after New Delhi cited security reasons for banning Alibaba’s UC News, UC Browser and 57 other Chinese apps after a bloody border skirmish between troops of the two countries.
After the ban, which has been flayed by China, India sought written answers from all Chinese firms on whether they censored content or acted for any foreign government.
Former employee of Alibaba’s UC Web, Pushpandra Singh Parmar, blamed the company for censoring content that is unfavourable to China and that its apps – UC Browser and UC News – featured fake news to create “social and political turmoil”.
Judge Sonia Sheokand of a district court in Gurugram, which is a satellite city of New Delhi, issued a summons for Alibaba, Jack Ma and about a dozen individuals or company units, asking them to appear in court in person or through a lawyer on July 29.
Sheokand also demanded a written response from the firm and its executives within a month.
In a statement UC India said 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”.
Parmar worked as an associate director at the UC Web office in Gurugram until October 2017. He is seeking $268,000 in damages.
The Chinese foreign ministry said in a statement that the government has told Chinese companies to “carry out overseas cooperation on the basis of abiding by international rules and local laws.
“The Indian side should also provide a fair, just and non-discriminatory environment for Chinese companies’ normal operations in India.”
(Photos syndicated via Reuters)
This story has been edited by BH staff and is published from a syndicated field
