X, owned by Elon Musk Takes Legal Action Against Indian Government Over Content Blocking

X, owned by Elon Musk, filed a case against the central government on Thursday. They allege the IT Act is being used to block content on the micro-blogging site. The case has been filed in the Karnataka high court. In the plea, the X has challenged what it called unlawful content regulation and arbitrary censorship. It raised concerns over the Centre’s interpretation of the Information Technology (IT) Act. X argues that the use of Section 79(3)(b) violates Supreme Court rulings. This usage undermines free expression online.
The lawsuit alleged the government is using the said section to create a parallel content-blocking mechanism. This mechanism bypasses the structured legal process outlined in Section 69A.
Section 69A of the IT Act allows the government to order content removal. This is for concerns of national security, public order, or sovereignty. This gives companies a clear legal basis to act. In contrast, companies argue that Section 79(3)(b) is vague. This forces platforms to decide what content is illegal. It exposes them to lawsuits or backlash.
Companies often use Section 69A as a defense. They argue they should only be liable if the government explicitly orders content removal. They should not guess what is illegal. This shifts responsibility to the government. It protects platforms from legal risks and accusations of bias. It also ensures compliance with official directives.

What is Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act?

Social media companies complain about Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act because it creates legal uncertainty. This uncertainty forces them to remove content even when it’s unclear if it’s illegal. The social media platforms claim that the vague definition of “knowledge” of illegal content makes them fear lawsuits. This fear leads to over-censorship. It also results in the suppression of free speech. The law also places a huge burden on platforms to police billions of posts daily, which is technically challenging.
Social media platforms have legally challenged the government’s Sahyog portal. This system was developed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs. It manages takedown requests under Section 79(3)(b). It also enables direct coordination between social media companies and law enforcement agencies.
X has refused to assign an employee to the platform. It argues that the platform serves as a “censorship tool.” This tool pressures companies to take down content without proper legal scrutiny. The lawsuit claims this is yet another government attempt to regulate online discourse without judicial oversight.