Karnataka HC Dismisses X Corp Plea; Says Social Media Content Must Remain Regulated
In a significant ruling, the Karnataka High Court on Thursday dismissed a petition filed by X Corp, the company formerly known as Twitter, that contested the authority of Indian government officials to issue orders for blocking online content.
The court firmly stated that social media platforms “cannot be allowed to work unregulated in India,” while delivering its verdict on the challenge brought by Elon Musk’s company.
X Corp had argued that government officers did not have the power to issue such blocking orders under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The company contended that only Section 69A of the Act, along with its associated 2009 rules, provided the proper legal channel for these actions.
Through its petition, which was heard over several months before arguments concluded in late July, X Corp had also sought protection for itself. It requested the court to restrain various central ministries from taking coercive action against it based on orders issued under the contested section and asked for interim relief from being forced to join the government’s ‘Sahyog’ portal.
Justice M Nagaprasanna, while dictating the order, underscored that regulating communication has always been a fundamental aspect of governance. “Information and communication, its spread or speed has never been left unchecked and unregulated. It has always been a subject matter of regulation,” the court observed.
The judge also made a distinct point about legal jurisdictions, cautioning against applying American judicial principles to India. “The judicial thought process has undergone a complete change in the realm of free speech, even in the United States. American judicial thought cannot be transplanted into the soil of Indian constitutional thought,” Justice Nagaprasanna remarked.
The Central government, which had opposed the petition, maintained that unlawful content cannot claim the same level of constitutional protection as legitimate speech.