Court summons Alibaba, Jack Ma on complaint of spreading fake news on UC Browser and UC News
A district court in Gurugram has summoned Chinese E-commerce giant Alibaba and its founder Jack Ma in a case in which a former employee in India says he was wrongfully fired after objecting to what he saw as censorship and fake news on company apps, reports news agency Reuters. The employee reportedly also accused the Chinese
Reuters claimed to have seen documents that state the same.
The development comes on the backdrop of India banning 59 major Chinese apps from India including famous entertainment app TikTok and UC Browser. The decision was taken by the Modi government after Indian and Chinese forces clashed at the Line of Actual Control (LAC) in Ladakh's Galwan Valley region.
A former employee of Alibaba's UC Web, Pushpendra Singh Parmar, alleges the company used to censor content seen as unfavorable to China and its apps UC Browser and UC News showcased false news to "cause social and political turmoil."
Highlights
- Pushpendra Singh Parmar, former employee of Alibaba in India was fired after objecting to what he saw as censorship and fake news on company apps
- The case has been registered in a district court in Gurugram, summons have been sent to several people including Jack Ma and Alibaba Group.
- Before the app was recently banned by the government, UC Browser had been downloaded at least 689 million times in India
Sonia Sheokand, Judge of the district court in Gurugram, has issued summons for Alibaba, Jack Ma and a dozen individuals, reports Reuters.
UC India said in a statement it had been “unwavering in its commitment to the Indian 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”.
Before the apps were banned, the UC Browser had been downloaded at least 689 million times in India, while UC News had 79.8 million downloads, most during 2017 and 2018, data from analytics firm Sensor Tower showed.
