Big Blow to Twitter in India, Karnataka HC fines 50 lac
In a significant legal development, Twitter has suffered a setback in the Karnataka High Court, which dismissed the social media behemoth’s petition against the Indian government’s directive to block certain tweets and accounts. The court also levied a substantial penalty of Rs 50 lakh on Twitter, attributing it to the company’s behavior.
The court’s ruling follows Twitter’s challenge to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s blocking orders issued last year, which Twitter deemed as arbitrary and in violation of freedom of speech and expression. These orders were related to tweets concerning the farmers’ protests and the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Your client (Twitter) was served notices and your client did not comply…Punishment for non-compliance is seven years imprisonment and an unlimited fine. That also did not deter your client. So you have not given any reason why you delayed compliance, more than a year of delay…then all of sudden you comply and approach the Court. You are not a farmer but a billion-dollar company.”
Twitter had contended that the orders to block certain tweets were “procedurally and substantially deficient of the provision” and demonstrated an “excessive use of powers.” The company questioned the directive to block user accounts and suppress freedom of speech.
The court’s decision arrives weeks after Twitter’s former CEO and co-founder, Jack Dorsey, accused India of threatening to shut down the social media platform in the country unless it complied with orders to restrict accounts critical of the handling of farmer protests in 2021. The Indian government had refuted these allegations as a “lie.”
The court also denied Twitter’s request to suspend the operation of the order. The Centre had argued that Twitter, being a foreign entity, cannot claim enforcement of fundamental rights. In response, Twitter informed the court that it was invoking the writ jurisdiction for a violation of protocols prescribed under Section 69A of the IT Act. It also claimed that rights under Article 14 were available to foreign entities as well.
The court has asked both Twitter and the Union government to clarify the issue of how Indian entities would be treated in the United States and foreign jurisdictions on such issues, before adjourning the hearing for two days later. Twitter has claimed that the government was required to issue notice to the owners of the Twitter handles against whom blocking orders are issued. Twitter had said that it was barred from informing the account holders about the government’s takedown orders.