Twitter files lawsuit against government's content-blocking regulation

Twitter has asked the Karnataka High Court to overturn Indian government orders to remove specific information from its platform, arguing that the content blocking orders from the IT Ministry do not satisfy "the test of the grounds specified under Section 69A of the IT Act," according to sources.

According to reports, numerous banning orders made to Twitter just "mention" grounds under the Section 69A, but fail to establish how the information fits under those grounds or how the claimed content violates Section 69A.

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The government had ordered Twitter to respond on content take-down notifications filed under Section 69A of the IT Act, as well as non-compliance notices issued for failing to remove the content.

According to reports, Twitter has requested judicial review of some of the information included in various banning orders, demanding relief from the court to set these blocking orders aside.

The IT Ministry had warned Twitter in a June letter that if it did not comply with specific material removal demands, it would face severe consequences.

According to sources, Twitter claims that the banning orders for various accounts and material are "overbroad and arbitrary," fail to provide notice to the "originators" of the content, and are "disproportionate" in some situations.

According to authorities, some might be related to political information released by official handles of political parties. The blocking of such information is a breach of the platform's citizens' right to free expression.

The IT Ministry is yet to respond to Twitter's court filing.