MUMBAI: Social media giant ‘X’, owned by US billionaire Elon Musk, has filed a lawsuit against the Indian government over its use of takedown orders to request social media content be removed.
The lawsuit argues that this is yet another attempt by the government to control online discourse without judicial oversight.
The case filed in Karnataka High Court raised concerns over the Centre’s interpretation of the Information Technology (IT) Act, which ‘X’ argues violates Supreme Court rulings and undermines free expression online.
The case revolves around the government’s use of a crucial legal provision to issue blocking orders, which X claims bypasses established safeguards.
Under Section 69A of the IT Act, the government has the authority to block public access to digital content if it is considered a threat to national security, sovereignty, or public order. However, this process is governed by the 2009 Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking Access to Information by the Public) Rules, which mandate a structured review process before any blocking decisions are made.
“According to X, this provision… is being misused to create an unlawful parallel mechanism for blocking information,” said Indian legal news website Bar and Bench.
The case will be heard on March 27, after a brief hearing early this week did not reach a conclusion.
Musk’s social media platform has frequently been involved in legal disputes over content regulation in India.
In 2023, an Indian court imposed a $61,000 fine on the platform after rejecting its plea to challenge orders to remove tweets and accounts critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government.
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Nearly a year later, X said an appeal challenging the government’s blocking orders “on specific accounts and posts” remains pending.
“Consistent with our position, a writ appeal challenging the Indian government’s blocking orders remains pending. We have also provided the impacted users with notice of these actions in accordance with our policies,” the company said on X in February 2024.
“Due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders, but we believe that making them public is essential for transparency,” it said.
