X Sues Indian Government over Content Censorship Controversy

Elon Musk’s social media platform, X (previously Twitter), has filed a lawsuit against the Indian government, accusing it of unfairly expanding its authority to remove online content. The Indian Ministry of Information Technology has, X alleges, been issuing content-blocking orders through a government website without adhering to previously adopted legal procedures that needed approval from senior officials.

X argues that the new system allows “unrestrained censorship” in India as the website is not subject to constitutional requirements of legal checks and balances. The case was heard in court briefly earlier this week in Karnataka but will continue on March 27.

This lawsuit is part of a longer struggle between X and the government of India on how to regulate online material. The legal battle comes as Musk’s companies, including Starlink and Tesla, are gearing up to enter India. Musk recently also inked deals with two Indian telecommunications giants to provide Starlink broadband, but those would require approval from the government.

This conflict also comes after heightened tensions between the U.S. and India, with the previous President Trump issuing threats of tariffs on Indian imports.