Musk's X Sues India as Tesla and Starlink Plan Entry

An Indian court is set to hear a lawsuit filed by Elon Musk's social media platform X, alleging that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government is abusing the law to censor content on its platform.

Last month, X filed a lawsuit against the government, claiming that a new website—Sahyog—launched by the federal home ministry last year, was being used to extend its censorship powers and remove content.

X contended that the portal granted government officials broad authority to issue blocking orders, which it claimed were "in violation" of India's digital laws. The company stated that it could not be forced to participate in Sahyog, labeling it a "censorship portal."

In response, the Indian government argued that the portal is crucial for addressing harmful online content.

Other American tech giants like Amazon, Google, and Meta have consented to participate in Sahyog.

Sahyog claims to be a portal designed to automate the process of sending government notices to content intermediaries such as X and Facebook.

The lawsuit, filed in the southern state of Karnataka, followed an order from the federal railway ministry directing X to remove "hundreds of posts."

These posts included videos of a stampede in Delhi that resulted in 18 deaths as people were heading to the Kumbh Mela, the world’s largest religious gathering.

In its petition, X argues that the portal and the orders issued through it exceed the scope of the original law that grants the government the authority to block content.

According to this law, senior officials can issue takedown orders, but only after following proper procedures, such as issuing notices, providing opportunities for hearings, and allowing for a review of decisions.

However, X claims the government is circumventing these procedures by issuing arbitrary content takedown orders through other legal provisions that lack safeguards.

As a result, X argues in its petition that "countless" government officials, including "tens of thousands of local police officers," are issuing orders "unilaterally and arbitrarily."

India's federal IT and home ministries did not respond to the BBC's request for comment.

In court, the government has maintained that its actions are legal, stating that it is not issuing blocking orders but merely sending "notices" to platforms regarding unlawful content.

The government also defended the Sahyog platform, describing it as a "necessity" due to the "increasing volume of unlawful and harmful content online."

Apar Gupta, from the digital rights organization Internet Freedom Foundation, stated that the case is of "vital importance" because the blocking mechanism of the Sahyog portal has led to "a significant increase in censorship."

This is not the first time X and the Indian government have clashed.

When Musk had not yet purchased X yet (known then as Twitter) the Delhi police executed a search of their offices after a ruling party spokesperson's tweet was labeled as "manipulated media."

X (then Twitter) brought a legal claim to the Indian government in 2022 because of blocking orders that included restrictions during a year-long farmer protest against new state laws. 

The judicial decision favored government authorities instead of the company and the company faced a 5 million rupee financial penalty.

Since being led by Musk X filed an appeal and the Karnataka High Court now hears the separate case.

During the appeal proceedings of 2023 the Indian government declared X to be a "habitual non-compliant platform."

The Indian authorities are currently analyzing the chatbot Grok made by X since it delivered politically-sensitive statements in response to user queries besides using inappropriate language.

The lawsuit emerges at a strategic time because Musk's Starlink and Tesla business plans have recently started expanding their operations within India.

The telecommunications companies from India entered a March agreement with Starlink for satellite internet delivery to their country and seek official government approval for service launch.

Tesla appears prepared for its entry into India based on its series of recent hiring decisions for Delhi and Mumbai locations along with its showroom site searches in both cities.
Musk held a meeting with Prime Minister Modi when he attended a White House conference.

Michael Kugelman identifies the combination of Musk's business growth in India and his ties to Donald Trump as providing ample influence with the Indian government.

His flexible decision-making power and lawsuit option against the Indian government stem from this level of freedom in operation he has achieved, he added. This case will not affect his business prospects in the country.