X must follow Indian laws: K'taka HC rejects plea against Centre's takedown orders

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday dismissed a petition filed by social media company X Corp challenging the authority of government officials to issue content takedown orders under the Information Technology Act, 2000.

- MPOST BUREAU

The court underscored that regulation of social media is essential, particularly in cases involving crimes against women, and held that platforms operating in India must comply with the law.

A single-judge bench led by Justice M Nagaprasanna ruled that social media cannot function as an unregulated space detached from statutory obligations. “Social media needs to be regulated, and its regulation is a must, more so in cases of offences against women in particular, failing which the right to dignity, as ordained in the Constitution of a citizen, gets railroaded,” the court observed.

X Corp, formerly Twitter, had approached the High Court seeking a declaration that Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act does not empower government officials to issue information blocking orders.

The company argued that such directions can only be issued under Section 69A of the IT Act read with the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules.

Section 79 of the IT Act provides "safe harbour" protection to intermediaries, shielding them from liability for user-generated content.