Elon Musk’s X has filed a lawsuit against the Indian government, accusing it of illegally censoring content on the platform.
The Washington Post reports that Elon Musk’s X filed a lawsuit against the Indian government earlier this month, with the suit becoming public on Thursday. The company alleges that last year, the Indian government created a “censorship portal” that allows government agencies, state authorities, and tens of thousands of local police officers to issue takedown orders en masse. X claims that this violates both India’s constitution and the Information Technology Act.
The lawsuit states, “This will result in significant censorship and unlawful blocking of lawful information on the X platform, which will prejudice X and detrimentally impact its business.” The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has declined to comment on the matter.
The timing of the lawsuit is particularly sensitive, as Elon Musk seeks new economic opportunities in India, while Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi faces increasing pressure from the Trump administration over trade and immigration issues. Shashank Reddy, managing partner at tech-focused firm Evam Law & Policy, noted that “this is no longer a single, simple issue about the interpretation of a specific section of law. It is a larger geopolitical issue.”
India has been tightening its control over online expression throughout Modi’s tenure, with relatively little resistance from American social media companies. Raman Chima, Asia policy director at digital rights group Access Now, said, “This is the first aggressive, clear action by a U.S. tech actor in the last two years on the deteriorating censorship and digital authoritarian situation in India.”
The lawsuit cites hundreds of takedown demands from the Railways Ministry in February, some of which were related to a stampede that took place on train platforms during the Kumbh Mela, a major Hindu pilgrimage. The incident embarrassed Modi’s Hindu-nationalist government, which had promised new safety measures this year following similar tragedies in the past.
The lawsuit comes amidst ongoing trade negotiations between India and the U.S., with New Delhi hoping to avoid new tariffs promised by President Donald Trump on April 2. While India has already made concessions on goods like motorcycles and whiskey, the Trump administration is pushing for broader tariff reductions and increased defense purchases from the United States.
During Modi’s visit to Washington in February, he met with Musk, and soon after, Tesla secured deals on new showrooms in India, while two of the country’s largest telecom operators announced deals with Starlink, Musk’s satellite communications company. However, some Indian corporate elites have expressed skepticism about Musk’s ambitions in the country.
Read more at the Washington Post here.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship.
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