Credit where credit’s due, in the past, I’ve criticized Elon Musk’s X for its lack of willingness to push back on information requests in nations where Musk’s other businesses are also seeking government favor.
But this week, it’s countered that, by launching legal action against the Indian government over its use of expanded censorship powers to request removals of posts from X, and other social platforms.
As reported by Reuters, X’s legal filing suggests that India’s IT ministry has “unlawfully expanded censorship powers to allow the easier removal of online content, and empowered countless government officials to execute such orders.”
Over the past few years, Indian officials have repeatedly called on the X team to remove content in order to quell anti-government sentiment, including the suppression of accounts related to the farmers’ protests in 2024, and the removal of a BBC documentary in 2023 that was critical of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The X team has complied with these requests, though it has noted that it disagrees with such under its freedom of speech ethos.
Which, in itself, seemed like a risky note of protest for Musk, considering that he’s also looking to work with the Indian government on new deals to bring Tesla and Starlink into the nation.
But now, despite these evident risks, X is heading to court to challenge India’s legal authority to suppress user voices via the app.
Which could be bad news for Tesla investors.
The embattled car company, which has become the focus of many protest actions in response to Musk’s increasing political activity, has been working to establish new distribution agreements in India, which will require regulatory approval from local authorities. Which could now be under threat, if the Indian government takes issue with this legal challenge.
That could put a significant dent in the electric car giant’s regional growth plans.
As noted, Musk’s SpaceX has also recently established deals with Indian telcos Reliance’s Jio and Airtel, which will theoretically enable a broad launch of Starlink internet services across India.
Given the volatility of the Indian government, it seems like a significant risk for X to take Indian regulators to court, and challenge local rule in this way. But at the same time, if X is going to make a stand on free speech, then it should be willing to fight for the same, and it’s a positive that it is looking to push back, rather than accept laws that it’s in disagreement with.
Twitter had previously challenged similar orders in court, in defense of its users, which did it no favors in the eyes of Indian authorities. And it lost its court challenge either way, which pointed to the inevitability of Indian regulation in this respect.
Indeed in complying with previous Indian government requests, Elon himself has noted that:
“The rules in India for what can appear on social media are quite strict, and we can’t go beyond the laws of the country.”
Which, again, is why this is such a significant challenge, and a significant risk for X and Elon to take.
It’ll be interesting to see how this impacts the company, and/or Elon’s other interests, and whether it does remain a separate concern.
Either way, it is good to see X taking a seemingly more principled stand in this instance.
