INDIAN COURT DISMISSES X’S PETITION ABOUT CONTENT REMOVAL MECHANISM

Thu 25 September 2025:

An Indian court rejected a legal challenge by Elon Musk’s X against the country’s new content moderation mechanism, dealing a setback to the social media firm in one of its biggest markets.

Filed in March, the company’s case against Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government in the Karnataka High Court had targeted the entire basis for tightened internet censorship in India.

“The content on social media needs to be regulated, and its regulation is a must,” senior judge Justice M Nagaprasanna said, as he ruled that the petition lacked merit.

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Since 2023, India has ramped up efforts to police the internet by allowing many more officials to file takedown orders and to submit them directly to tech firms through a government website launched in October.

India’s media freedom has plummeted since the early 2010s, dropping from a World Press Freedom Index (WPFI) rank of 140 in 2014 to a low of 161 in 2023, before a marginal rebound to 159 in 2024 and 151 in 2025—still in the “very serious” category out of 180 countries.

Despite the slight uptick, the score fell from 36.62 in 2023 to 31.28 in 2024, signaling deeper erosion.

Key drivers include concentrated media ownership by pro-government tycoons, fostering “Godi media”—outlets that echo ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) narratives while sidelining dissent.

Colonial-era laws like sedition, defamation, and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) are weaponized to jail journalists, with over 900 attacks reported in 2024 alone.

Physical violence, including murders like that of freelance reporter Mukesh Chandrakar in January 2025, breeds self-censorship.

Economic pressures exacerbate this: Ad revenue crashes and tech giants’ dominance force closures, while raids on outlets like the BBC in 2023 highlight state intimidation.

In Kashmir, internet blackouts and censorship stifle coverage.

Globally, this aligns with a WPFI “difficult situation” for press freedom, but in India’s democracy, it risks unchecked power.

SOURCE: INDEPENDENT PRESS AND NEWS AGENCIES

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