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EBay Executive Arrested for Obscene Material

The CEO of India's Ebay subsidary, Baazee.com, was arrested after a seller listed an obscene video for sale [more]. Avnish Bajaj, a U.S. citizen, was taken into custody on Dec. 17 under section 67 of India's Information Technology Act, which relates to transmission of obscene material through electronic media. My understanding is that Bajaj is appealing to the U.S. State Department for help.

EBay is "outraged" by the arrest, partly because it happened after Bajaj voluntarily traveled to New Delhi to assist in the police investigation. In addition, baazee.com removed the material from its website after being notified about it by a private party.

The obscene material involved a child pornography video clip that was filmed by a minor. The same minor who attempted to sell it via Baazee.com has been expelled from school and arrested [Washington Times]

India's Information Technology Act is ambiguous about who should be held responsible for the electronic publishing of obscene material. [Forbes]

In general, I think there is confusion and ambiguity regarding accountability and the internet. Who should be held accountable for the distribution of child porn in addition to those produce it?

While I think there is more to this story than meets the eye, there is certainly accountability that ebay.com bears for enabling child pornography to be distributed (actually it was listed but never distributed) through its profitable services. And, while I'm uncomfortable with Bajaj's arrest (as it has been reported), the nature of his position is one of responsibility.

Update from WorldMagBlog - Suggestion: The highest levels of the U.S. government and the corporate exporters of Western moral decay should let India protect its culture.

Posted by tim at December 20, 2004 7:59 AM

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