In a recent court filing, the Indian government has labeled X Corp (formerly Twitter) as a platform that consistently fails to comply with regulations.
“X-Corp does not follow the law of the land,” the government said, adding that this lowered “the authority of the law, judiciary and executive”.
The Indian government, in response to an appeal by X Corp (formerly Twitter) in a court in the southern Indian state of Karnataka, has accused the company of being a “habitual non-compliant platform.”
X is appealing against a recent court order that dismissed its challenge to government orders blocking certain accounts and posts, along with a fine imposed for non-compliance.
The government argued in its court filing that all blocking orders were issued following legal procedures and in the interest of India’s sovereignty and security.
It accused X of deliberate non-compliance and exerting pressure on the government while not following its orders.
The government also highlighted the importance of intermediary status and safe harbor protection for platforms like X in Indian law, emphasizing that losing these protections could hinder the company’s operations in the country. X has not yet commented on the filing.
“Habitually, the Appellant platform [X] ensures compliance only after the court warns it of action/consequences for non-compliance,” the government said in its affidavit.
X has argued that the government’s orders to block several accounts relating to widespread farmer’s protest were not “consistent with Indian law” and against X’s (then Twitter) principle of protecting free speech.
The government noted that X’s “compliance rates with government requests have been significantly low”, prompting the government to issue show-cause notice to the company.