Report from Reuters
In Brief – The Karnataka High Court has rejected X’s legal challenge to block a centralized social media takedown system run by the government. In its ruling, the High Court argued that social media companies operating in India must adhere to the country’s laws and also observed that the constitutional protection of freedom of speech applies to Indian citizens, not foreign corporations. X sued the government in March alleging that it is using the safe-harbor procedure in Section 79 of India’s Information Technology Act to bypass the legal processes for online content takedown requests established by Section 69 of the same act, including court reviews. The company has focused its ire on Sahyog, a centralized government portal set up last fall that allows authorities to directly order social media companies to remove content. Companies including Google, Meta, ShareChat, and LinkedIn, have integrated the portal into their platforms to automatically remove content after receiving notices from authorities, a fact noted by the government. X has announced that it will appeal the ruling to the Indian Supreme Court.
Context – Elon Musk oftentimes defends “free speech”, but he has also often said that X will follow “local laws”. In the US, the foundation is built on the First Amendment. In countries like India and Turkey, social media platforms can be ordered to take down posts criticizing the government. The EU is using its Digital Services Act to regulate content moderation by X, and they may soon fine the company and Musk himself, a standoff that is likely to pull in the Trump Administration. Beyond Europe, X prevailed last year in a court standoff with Australia’s online safety regulator over an attempt to block a violent video on X globally and is engaged in a similar court standoff in Canada. In Brazil, X backed down and removed several conservative activists from the platform after a nasty and personal fight with the Supreme Court. Given Musk’s other major business interests in India, many have been surprised that X has been willing to challenge the government in recent years, especially when the other US digital platforms have been more restrained.