Social media platform X has filed a lawsuit against the Indian government, accusing the Ministry of Information Technology of unlawfully expanding its censorship capabilities. The lawsuit alleges that New Delhi has developed a parallel system for content removal that bypasses established legal safeguards meant to protect free speech.
The legal battle comes at a critical time when Musk reportedly is preparing to launch his other high-profile ventures, Starlink and Tesla, in India.
X’s lawsuit claims that the Indian IT Ministry is encouraging other government departments to use a content-blocking website launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs last year. According to the complaint, the website enables countless government officials to issue content removal orders without the stringent safeguards traditionally required under Indian law.
“This mechanism creates an impermissible parallel system that facilitates unrestrained censorship of information in India,” X argued in its court filing. The company is now seeking to have the directive quashed, citing it as an overreach of governmental power.
The case is the latest episode in X’s ongoing conflict with the Indian government over content moderation policies. In 2021, X found itself at odds with New Delhi over its refusal to block tweets related to a farmers’ protest against government policies. The company eventually complied under public pressure from Indian authorities, but the legal dispute remains unresolved.
