X approaches HC over Centre using IT Act to block content

X CLAIMED THAT USE OF SEC 79(3)(B) SETS UP ILLEGAL PARALLEL PROCESS TO BLOCK CONTENT

- Aditi Agrawal

NEW DELHI: X, formerly Twitter, has filed a petition in the Karnataka high court challenging the Indian government's use of Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, arguing that it not only sets up an illegal parallel content-blocking process but also violates the Supreme Court's 2015 Shreya Singhal judgment, which declared that content could only be blocked through a competent court order or under Section 69A's structured process.

As per Section 79(3)(b), an intermediary can lose its safe harbor—which protects platforms from liability for third-party content—if it fails to remove or disable access to content upon being informed by the "appropriate" government or its agency. X argues that this provision does not grant the government blocking powers. The company contends that government authorities are misusing this section to bypass the safeguards of Section 69A and arbitrarily censor online content.