Bengaluru: A case against Google India in the High Court of Karnataka for depicting Kannada as 'ugliest language' was withdrawn after an apology was tendered by the internet giant.
In June 2021, several users pointed out when a query was put on the ugliest language in Google search, the said “Kannada, a language spoken by around 40 million people in south India.” The answer seemed to have been picked up from a page on a website named debtconsolidationsquad.com, which featured this answer amidst a series of questions and answers on languages across the world, including questions on “easiest language in India '' and “most beautiful language in India.”
Later, Google apologised in English and Kannada saying: "Search isn't always perfect. Sometimes, the way content is described on the internet can yield surprising results to specific queries. We know this is not ideal, but we take swift corrective action when we are made aware of an issue and are continually working to improve our algorithms. Naturally, these are not reflective of the opinions of Google, and we apologize for the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments."
On Wednesday, the Court disposed of a petition as withdrawn. The petitioner, the Anti Corruption Council of India Trust, decided to withdraw its petition as Google India had apologised on the issue.
A report in Bar and Bench quoted the bench comprising Acting Chief Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sachin Magadum as saying, "The contention of the petitioner is that later on, Google India has tendered apology in the matter in terms of the content displayed on the website, assuring that such incidents will not take place in future." The court then disposed of the Public Interest Litigation (PIL).
