Elon Musk’s social media platform X has launched a legal challenge against the Indian government, accusing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration of unlawfully broadening its censorship powers.
The lawsuit contends that India’s Ministry of Information Technology (IT) has expanded its authority to remove online content without adhering to stringent legal safeguards, allowing government officials to execute takedown orders with little oversight.
This latest legal battle intensifies the ongoing friction between X and the Modi government over digital censorship.
At the heart of the matter is a new mechanism facilitated by a government website introduced last year by India’s Ministry of Home Affairs. According to X, the IT Ministry is instructing various departments to use this platform to issue content-blocking orders while simultaneously mandating social media companies to comply by joining the system.
