Twitter's Bid to Contest Content Removal Denied, High Court Slaps ₹50 Lakh Fine

The Karnataka High Court has rejected a plea from Twitter to challenge the federal government’s orders to block certain tweets and accounts, imposing a fine of ₹50 lakh ($67,000).

What Happened? Twitter’s former CEO and co-founder, Jack Dorsey, had previously claimed that the Indian government threatened to shut down the platform unless it restricted accounts criticizing the government’s handling of farmer protests in 2021. India’s government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, refuted these accusations.

Deputy Minister for Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, announced the court’s decision on Twitter, stating that Twitter failed to respond to official notices.

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Last year, Twitter sought to revoke some of the government’s orders to remove content from its platform. The targeted content included posts supporting an independent Sikh state, misinformation related to farmer protests, and critiques of the government’s management of the COVID-19 pandemic.

During the ruling, the bench criticised Twitter for delaying compliance for over a year before suddenly adhering to the orders and approaching the court. Twitter had previously argued to the court that some removal orders didn’t meet the procedural requirements of India’s IT Act, which enables the government to block public access to content for reasons such as national security.

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