X Sues Indian Government, Alleges Arbitrary Censorship

X moves Karnataka High Court against India's IT Act censorship policies.

Bengaluru: The internet media platform X, owned by American billionaire Elon Musk, has filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court challenging alleged unlawful content regulation and arbitrary censorship by the Indian government.

X has raised concerns over the government’s interpretation of the Information Technology (IT) Act, particularly its use of Section 79(3)(b). The platform argues that this violates Supreme Court rulings and undermines freedom of expression in the digital sphere.

The company has also accused authorities of misusing the law by imposing censorship without following due process.

The petition alleges that the government is using Section 69A to create a parallel system for blocking content, bypassing the legal procedure mentioned under this provision.

X claims that this approach contradicts the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in the Shreya Singhal case, which stated that content can only be blocked through proper judicial procedures or under legally defined methods in Section 69A.

According to the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, Section 79(3)(b) mandates that online platforms must remove illegal content if directed by a court order or a government notification. If a digital platform fails to comply within 36 hours, it can be held liable under various laws, including the IPC.