Elon Musk's X Files Lawsuit Against India Alleging Government Censorship
Musk's X challenges India's censorship power in a lawsuit
Tensions between Elon Musk’s platform X (formerly Twitter) and the Indian government are heating up again. X has filed a lawsuit against India’s IT ministry, claiming that the government has overstepped its authority by expanding censorship powers. According to X, India has made it easier to take down online content and handed “countless” officials the power to enforce these orders.
This isn’t the first time X, and the Indian government has butted heads. Back in 2021, X got into a standoff with New Delhi after refusing to block certain tweets related to a farmers’ protest. Under pressure from government officials, X eventually gave in—but the legal battle over that decision is still dragging on.
Now, things are escalating.
The new lawsuit, filed on March 5, argues that India’s IT ministry is encouraging other departments to use a government website launched last year to issue content-blocking orders. X says this system bypasses existing legal safeguards, which typically require takedown orders to address serious issues like threats to sovereignty or public order—and to be approved by top officials. This situation mirrors a similar case X has faced with the Brazilian government.
Louis Eriakha
India’s IT ministry declined to comment, as per reports, directing questions to the Home Affairs ministry, which has stayed silent. X, which has about 30 million users in India, argues that the new system creates “an impermissible parallel mechanism” that allows for “unrestrained censorship.”
The lawsuit was first reported on Thursday. A court in Karnataka heard the case earlier this week, but no decision was made. The next hearing is set for March 27.
This comes at a tricky time for Musk. He’s actively working to expand his other ventures, Starlink and Tesla, into India—a market with huge potential. A win for X could set a precedent for how social media platforms operate under political pressure. But losing could embolden the government to tighten their grip on online platforms.
All eyes are on how this plays out—because it’s not just about X. It’s about the broader implications on the relationship between social media companies and governments globally.
