Karnataka High Court Rejects Elon Musk’s X Corp Petition, Says ‘Social Media Must Be Regulated’

Karnataka HC Upholds Centre’s Authority, Dismisses Plea on Government’s Power to Issue Blocking Order Under IT Act

Elon Musk’s social media platform, X Corp, has filed a petition at the Karnataka High Court challenging the Union government’s mandate. The government issued a content takedown order under the Information Technology Act. Social media intermediaries are set to join the Central Sahyog portal.

Karnataka High Court’s Decision

The Karnataka High Court rejected the petition filed by X Corp on 24 September 2025. The Elon Musk-led company challenged content blocking orders under Section 79 issued by state and central authorities.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna passed the judgment saying, "Regulation of information in this domain is neither novel nor unique. The United States regulates it.” He further added, “Every sovereign nation regulates it. India likewise cannot, by any stretch of constitutional imagination, be branded unlawful for doing so.”

The court also ordered that social media content must be regulated, especially content related to offences against women. It said that the right to dignity would be undermined if this regulation were rolled out. The court drew the line by saying, “We are a society governed by laws. Order is the architecture of our democracy.”

The Karnataka HC also issued an ultimatum to social media platforms: “Every platform that seeks to operate within the jurisdiction of our nation must accept that liberty is yoked with responsibility, and the privilege of access carries with it the solemn duty of accountability.”

The Centre’s Stance on the Petition

Elon Musk-led X Corp was “attempting to mislead the court by falsely alleging that authorities are passing information blocking orders,” said the High Court. The HC said Section 79 of the IT Act follows global best practices that balance the interests of the stakeholders, intermediaries, content creators, and recipients. This act also balances the legitimate state interests.

The Centre has also clarified that Section 79(3) does not give the Government the authority to issue information blocking orders while disregarding Section 69A.

The X Corp’s petition also claimed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) passed ‘template blocking orders.’ The HC has discarded this claim as the words ‘blocking orders’ were never mentioned in any of the notices submitted by MeitY or the state government.