Social media giant Meta Platforms, the parent company of Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp, has told the Delhi High Court that the right of free speech under Article 19 of the Constitution of India cannot be invoked against it by a user.
Meta claimed that it is not obligated to carry out a public duty and when action is taken against a user in accordance with the private contract between them, it results in a contractual dispute between two private parties.
The US-based company said that the “Instagram Service is a free and voluntary platform”, governed by a private contract, and the petitioner user “has no fundamental right to use it”.
The Central government had told the high court that an individual's liberty and freedom cannot be “waylaid or jettisoned in the slipstream of social and technological advancement” and the social media platforms must respect the fundamental rights of the citizens and conform to the Constitution of India.
In its affidavit filed in the instant case: “Petitioner's attempt to have this Hon'ble Court invoke its writ jurisdiction is particularly inappropriate as the relationship between Petitioner and Meta arises from a private contract and the alleged dispute at issue is a contractual one and Article 19 rights cannot be invoked against a private entity such as Meta.”
It added: “Petitioner's attempt to assert Article 19 rights against Meta, a private entity, is improper, contrary to law, and ought to be denied...Meta is not discharging a public function that would make it amenable to this Hon'ble Court's writ jurisdiction under Article 226.”
See What’s Next in Tech With the Fast Forward Newsletter
Tweets From @varindiamag
Nothing to see here - yet
When they Tweet, their Tweets will show up here.
