Karnataka HC rules against X Corp on IT Act challenge
Observing that social media needs to be regulated and as a “modern amphitheatre of ideas,” it cannot be left in a state of “anarchic freedom“, the Karnataka High Court on Wednesday dismissed X Corp‘s petition against the government’s content takedown mechanism under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act. Holding that every sovereign nation regulates social media and that India’s action likewise, cannot, by any stretch of constitutional imagination, be branded as unlawful, the court said none may presume to treat the Indian marketplace as a mere playground where information can be disseminated in defiance of statutes or disregard for legality.
“Social media needs to be regulated, and its regulation is a must, more so in cases of offences against women in particular, failing which the right to dignity, as ordained in the constitution of a citizen, gets railroaded,” said the single-judge bench of Justice M Nagaprasanna. “The petitioner’s platform is subject to a regulated regime.” The judge also pointed out that every platform that seeks to operate within the jurisdiction of India must accept that liberty is yoked with responsibility and the privilege of access. These platforms carry with them the solemn duty of accountability to hold; otherwise, it will imperil both the rule of law and the fabric of social harmony, the court observed.
X Corp (formerly Twitter) had moved the court seeking a declaration that Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act does not confer the authority to issue information blocking orders, as it questioned the way the Centre and the state governments were issuing such orders. Section 79 of the IT Act grants safe harbour protection to intermediaries, shielding them from liability for user-generated content, and Section 79(3)(b) removes the same if an intermediary fails to block/ remove unlawful content upon government notification.
The social media giant contended that such orders can only be issued after following the procedure under Section 69A of the Act, read with the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules. It had also challenged the legality of the Centre’s ‘Sahyog‘ portal – an online platform used to issue content takedown orders to intermediaries. Section 69 of the IT Act, 2000 grants the government the power to issue directions to intercept, monitor, or decrypt information from any computer resource in the interest of India’s sovereignty, integrity, defence, security, friendly relations with foreign states, or public order, and to prevent incitement to the commission of any cognisable offense or for the investigation of any offense.
The government also must record reasons for such an order, and the affected intermediary or person in charge of the computer resource must comply and provide necessary assistance. The court observed that X follows the takedown orders in the US, the birthplace and footland of social media, as it criminalizes its violation. “But the same petitioner refuses to follow the same in the shores of this nation, of similar takedown orders which are founded upon illegality. This sans countenance. The petition for all the aforesaid reasons lacking in merit stands rejected.”
The platform had sought a direction to the government against taking coercive or prejudicial action against X in relation to any ‘Information Blocking Orders‘ issued other than those issued in accordance with section 69A of the IT Act, read with the blocking rules. X had also sought protection from any coercive action against the company, its representatives, or employees, for not joining the ‘Sahyog’ portal. However, the court noted that the ‘Sahyog’ portal is an instrument of public good, conceived under the IT Act. “It stands as a beacon of cooperation between the citizen and the intermediary, a mechanism through which the state endeavours to combat the growing menace of cybercrime. To assail its validity is to misunderstand its purpose. Hence, the challenge is without merit,” Justice Nagaprasanna said about ‘Sahyog’.
“Social media as a modern amphitheatre of ideas cannot be left in a state of anarchic freedom,” the judge said, adding that regulation of information in this domain is “neither novel nor unique,” said the Judge, reminding X Corp that social media regulation is also in the US. X Corp had moved the court after the Ministry of Railways issued multiple takedown orders relating to posts on the recent stampede at New Delhi Railway Station. The company sought a declaration that Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act does not authorise content blocking.
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