Musk's 'X', Starlink in Legal Spat With Govt

It is rather ironical that soon after Prime Minister Modi went calling at the White House, and after all the bonhomie with President Donald Trump and his Lieutenant Elon Musk, the Indian government is now in a spat with two important commercial Musk platforms.

- GURBIR SINGH

The issue: freedom of speech and expression.

In a second legal encounter with the government, the Elon Musk-owned 'X' has filed a suit in the Karnataka High Court alleging the Union government is using "an impermissible parallel mechanism" to block online content without proper judicial process, and in violation of the Information Technology Act. After an initial hearing, the matter has been posted for 3 April.

Earlier, in June 2023, the Karnataka High Court dismissed Twitter's (now X) plea against the Centre's orders to block certain social media accounts and tweets. The high court imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh on the company for non-compliance with the Indian government's orders.

CHOKING RULES

In its fresh suit, X has pointed out Section 69A of the IT Act, passed in October 2000, gives the IT ministry the right to remove online content deemed to be a threat to the country's national security, or to public decorum. However, by way of safeguards, there are "blocking rules" wherein the Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) is required to examine the content and pass a reasoned order whether censorship is warranted.