Elon Musk’s X takes a stand against India’s content blocking regulations, warns of potential censorship
Social media platform X is aiming to overturn a court ruling that found it in violation of government directives to delete content, asserting that this decision may empower New Delhi to further restrict content and expand censorship possibilities.
X, formerly known as Twitter, attempted in July 2022 to overturn government orders to remove content from its platform. In June 2023, the court overturned the request and imposed a fine of 5 million rupees ($60,560).
X has now appealed the decision, arguing in a 96-page filing that the government is “emboldened to issue more restraining orders” that violate the law. The application, which was dated August 1 but has not been made public, was filed in the Karnataka High Court by local law firm Poovayya & Co.
The original lawsuit was filed before X is owned by billionaire Elon Musk, who also runs several businesses in India.
Tesla’s CEO is discussing an investment proposal to establish an electric vehicle manufacturing plant there and is seeking market access for his satellite broadband company SpaceX.
X said the application must have “observable parameters” that require blocking the entire account rather than a specific post. Otherwise, the government’s “power to censor future content is unhindered.”
Court hearings are usually held within a few days of filing the application.
In previous years, Indian authorities have asked the company to take action over content allegedly spreading misinformation about farmers’ protests, as well as tweets criticizing the government’s handling of the COVID-19 pandemic.
