Grandma bathing 2-year-old: Google gets notice on blocking account over 'explicit child abuse' photo

Google account block: The Gujarat High Court has issued notice to Google India and others on a plea raising concerns over Google's redressal mechanism being entirely handled by artificial intelligence (AI). Neel Shukla, a computer engineer from Gujarat, moved the Gujarat High Court after being locked out of his Google account allegedly due to backing up "explicit child abuse" content on Google Photos, according to a report by Live Law.

Shukla contends that Google failed to notify him about the objectionable photos leading to the account blockage. He suspects that the action might have been triggered by a photo depicting him being bathed by his grandmother when he was two years old.

According to Shukla's plea, Google's grievance redressal mechanism relies solely on an AI program called SAM, conducting content scanning and appeals without human involvement. Despite following the prescribed appeal process, Shukla remains locked out of his account, impacting both personal and professional services, including Gmail, Google Pay, and other associated platforms.

Furthermore, the plea highlights the cascading effect of the account blockage, as Shukla's access to services not directly connected to Google, such as Discord, Reddit, YouTube, and Android Play Store, has also been affected due to their association with his Google account.

The legal battle ensued after Google suspended Shukla's account last year citing policy violations regarding explicit child abuse content. Despite repeated attempts to resolve the issue through Google's internal channels, Shukla found no resolution, prompting him to seek legal recourse.

During the court hearing, Shukla's counsel underscored the severe business repercussions faced by Shukla due to the account blockage, leading to substantial financial losses.

In his plea, Shukla challenges the inaction of relevant authorities in addressing his grievances and seeks intervention from the Department of Science and Technology and the Directorate General of Police, State Cyber Crime Cell, CID Crime. The High Court has given the Central and state governments until March 26 to respond to the petition.