X says police order demanding removal of Indian free-speech groups’ accounts was fake
Police orders asking X to block online accounts of two of India's most prominent free speech groups were fake, the social media company told an Indian court on Friday, days after the purported content removal requests sparked a public outcry.
X, the social media platform, informed an Indian court on Friday that orders demanding the removal of accounts belonging to two prominent free speech groups in India were fraudulent. The apparent requests, submitted through X's online reporting form under the name of a senior Delhi police officer, aimed to eliminate the accounts of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and the Software Freedom Law Centre, India (SFLC.in).
These groups accused the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, a Hindu nationalist organization, of defamation. X's lawyer stated that the company conducted an internal investigation and found the orders to be a fabrication. The Delhi police did not provide an immediate response to inquiries. Free-speech activists in India have consistently argued that the country's stringent content removal laws are tools used to suppress dissent in the world's most populous nation, which boasts over 1.1 billion internet subscribers.
According to these activists, the directives target unlawful or misleading content while preserving lawful expression. The purported takedown orders were based on Indian regulations that mandate platforms to comply with such notices within three hours. X promptly forwarded the fraudulent orders to the affected users before determining their validity.
The Internet Freedom Foundation had sought to invalidate the orders in court, which led to widespread controversy on social media. Amnesty International, India's main opposition party, contested the orders' legality, as did the groups themselves. Additionally, the groups received separate legal notices purportedly on behalf of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, demanding they cease criticizing and documenting government-imposed blocking orders, as per the petition.
Written by urgent.news from Daily Maverick's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
