Elon Musk's X sues Modi govt over alleged censorship, says India 'illegally blocking online content'

US billionaire Elon Musk owned social media giant X (formerly Twitter) has filed a lawsuit against the Indian government in the Karnataka High Court, alleging what it called unlawful content regulation and arbitrary censorship.

The social media platform challenged the Central government for the way it uses Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act (IT Act), claiming that the government authorities in India are bypassing proper legal procedures and setting up an illegal system to block content online.

It further alleged that the government is undermining free expression online.

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According to the IT Act, platforms like X can lose their legal protection, known as a safe harbour, if they do not remove or block content when told by government authorities.

However, Elon Musk's X argued that this section does not allow the government to block content, adding that they are misusing the provision, bypassing the structured legal process outlined in Section 69A.

It further claimed that this approach contradicts the Supreme Court's 2015 ruling in the Shreya Singhal case, which established that content can only be blocked through a proper judicial process or the legally defined route under Section 69A.

These online platforms can remove illegal content only when directed by either a court order or a government notification, according to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), under Section 79(3)(b).

However, if a social media platform fails to comply within 36 hours, it might lose its safe harbour protection and could be held accountable under various laws, including the Indian Penal Code (IPC).

The company has warned that this could lead to widespread censorship in India, stressing that these actions are hurting its business in the country.

Further, X feared that random blocking orders could damage its platform and user trust.

'Sahyog' a 'censorship portal'

The Indian government is also pushing X to join 'Sahyog', a portal run by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), designed to manage Section 79(3)(b) orders.

However, X has opposed joining Sahyog, describing it as a "Censorship Portal", saying that there is no legal basis for creating this system or for forcing companies to appoint special officers for it.

(With inputs from agencies)