SC to examine petition against IT rules on social media content

The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Centre to respond to a petition seeking quashing Rule 16 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009 that allowed authorities to block social media accounts or content without a notice or an opportunity to be heard.

A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih agreed to examine a petition filed by Software Freedom Law Centre after senior advocate Indira Jaising submitted on behalf of the petitioner that no notice was given to the “originator” of the information and a notice was only sent to platforms such as X.