Google agrees to help Indian police track offenders on social networking site

Google has agreed to aid police in the Indian city of Mumbai (Bombay) to remove content and track down people who glorify Indian mobsters and use "anti-Indian words" on the company's social networking site in the country, Orkut.

"Early February, I met three representatives from Orkut.com, including a top official from the US. The other two were from Bangalore. We reached a working agreement whereby Orkut has agreed to provide us details of the IP address from which an objectionable message or blog has been posted on the site and the Internet service provider involved," said Mumbai Enforcement Directorate police officer, Sanjay Mohite.

The Mumbai police is attempting to crack down on people who glorify the actions of dangerous mob leaders in the city, as well as those posting "anti-Indian" content such as pictures of the Indian national flag being burned. Some have accused Google of conspiring with the police to aid internet censorship. Actions such as flag desecration are illegal in India, however.

Mumbai Newsline via Slashdot