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India court rejects X’s ‘free speech’ argument, backs government takedown powers


X sued the Indian government in March over content takedown orders issued through its centralized portal.

Kazim Rizvi, Founding Director of The Dialogue, a New Delhi-based think tank, said the ruling may improve coordination between the government and platforms, but cautioned that “due diligence” should not become a blanket obligation to comply — especially when takedowns occur via a portal, rather than through the structured safeguards of Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. “To avoid unintended legal effects, the portal should operate strictly as a coordination and collection layer — a secure intake and routing point for requests, and any binding action should originate from a competent authority under the IT Act/Rules,” he told TechCrunch. Companies, including Microsoft, Google, Meta, ShareChat, and LinkedIn, have already integrated the portal to remove content after receiving notices through an automated process triggered by the federal government or its agencies.

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