A lawyer for Elon Musk’s company X told an Indian court on Tuesday that low-level government officials have been given authority to issue content takedown orders, raising concerns about how such powers are used.
The comment came during a hearing in Karnataka High Court where X is challenging a government website that it calls a “censorship portal.” The company argues the portal gives officials the ability to order content removals without oversight.
The Indian government says the platform is used only to notify social media firms of their legal obligations.
X’s lawyer, K. G. Raghavan, cited a recent case where the railways department asked X to remove a video showing a car driving on railway tracks. He said the video was newsworthy, but the government still ordered its removal.
Raghavan said the real issue is the wide authority given to many government officials to issue takedown orders.
The Indian government responded sharply. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that all officials involved are legal authorities and that social media platforms cannot expect to operate without regulation.
India remains an important market for Elon Musk’s business interests, including Starlink and Tesla, which are preparing for launch in the country. X has previously clashed with the Indian government over content moderation.
In 2021, when it was still called Twitter, the platform delayed compliance with government takedown orders before eventually following them. The company is still involved in legal proceedings related to that case.
