Karnataka to take legal action against Google for showing Kannada as 'ugliest language' in search results

Bengaluru: Karnataka government has said it will take legal action against Google for showing Kannada as the ugliest language in search results. Google search result showing Kannada as the ugliest language in India has sparked an outrage with people demanding action against the global search giant.

In view of the protests, Google quickly removed Kannada "as the ugliest language in India" and apologised to the people saying the search result did not reflect its opinion.

Reacting to it, Karnataka Minister for Kannada, Culture and Forest, Aravind Limbavali said a legal notice would be served to Google for showing such an answer to that question.

Later, he took to Twitter to express his outrage and demanded an apology from Google to Kannada and Kannadigas. "The Kannada language has a history of its own, having come into existence as many as 2,500 years ago,'' the minister said and added that the language has been the pride of Kannadigas through the ages.

Kannada language has a history of its own, having come into existence as many as 2,500 years ago! It has been the pride of Kannadigas all through these two-and-a-half millennia. 1/2#Kannada

— Aravind Limbavali (@ArvindLBJP) June 3, 2021

Showing Kannada in poor light "...Is merely an attempt by Google to insult this pride of Kannadigas. I demand an apology from @Google ASAP to Kannada, Kannadigas. Legal action will be taken against Google for maligning the image of our beautiful language!" Limbavali tweeted.

If Kannada is now called ugliest language in India, it is merely an attempt by @Google to insult this pride of Kannadigas. Demand apology from @Google ASAP to Kannada, Kannadigas. Legal action will be taken against @Google for maligning the image of our beautiful language! 2/2

— Aravind Limbavali (@ArvindLBJP) June 3, 2021

When contacted, a Google spokesperson said, "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 apologise for the misunderstanding and hurting any sentiments, " he said.

Former Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy denounced Google in a series of tweets for the outrageous answer to the language question. He sought to know why Google "behaves in an irresponsible manner" in terms of language.

ಭಾಷೆ ವಿಚಾರದಲ್ಲಿ @GoogleIndia @Google ಯಾಕಿಷ್ಟು ಅಸೂಕ್ಷ್ಮವಾಗಿ ನಡೆದುಕೊಳ್ಳುತ್ತದೆ? 'Ugliest language in India' ಎಂಬ ಹುಡುಕಾಟಕ್ಕೆ #Kannada ಎಂದು ಉತ್ತರ ನೀಡುತ್ತಿದ್ದ ವೆಬ್‌ ಪುಟ ತೆಗೆದು ಹಾಕಲು ಕನ್ನಡಿಗರು ಬಂಡೇಳಬೇಕಾಯ್ತೆ? ಯಾವುದೇ ಭಾಷೆ ವಿರುದ್ಧದ ಇಂಥ ದ್ವೇಷವನ್ನು ಮೊದಲೇ ನಿಯಂತ್ರಿಸಲು Googleಗೆ ಅಸಾಧ್ಯವೇ?
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— H D Kumaraswamy (@hd_kumaraswamy) June 3, 2021

Others including the BJP's Bengaluru Central MP, PC Mohan slammed Google and asked it to apologise. Sharing the screenshot of the search on his Twitter handle, Mohan said Karnataka is home to the great Vijayanagara empire and the Kannada language has a rich heritage, a glorious legacy and unique culture.