Karnataka High Court Rejects X Corp Petition, Upholds Need for Social Media Regulation

Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court has dismissed a petition filed by X Corp, owned by Elon Musk, in which the company had argued that Section 79(3)(B) of the IT Act does not authorize the government to issue orders to block information.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna stated in the verdict that regulating content on social media is essential, particularly in cases involving crimes against women. Failure to regulate such content, the court noted, would violate the constitutional right to dignity. The court emphasized that companies cannot operate without oversight and must comply with India’s legal framework.

This case is also referred to as Twitter vs. Union of India. X Corp had approached the court challenging alleged government overreach, specifically orders related to censoring content on the cooperation portal and blocking accounts. The company argued that such actions violated freedom of expression and posed a threat to its business model.

X Corp claimed that the government’s actions were an attempt to create an unregulated censorship system without following established legal procedures, including removal of content from opposition leaders and critics.

The court clarified that this was not the first instance; in 2022, X Corp had also challenged orders under Section 69A, but the High Court had upheld the government’s authority at that time as well. With this ruling, social media platforms are now firmly required to adhere to Indian laws and regulations.