‘…officers are not Tom, Dick, or Harry…’: Government to Elon Musk’s X over content takedown orders

Elon Musk-owned X, formerly Twitter, is clashing with the government once again over content moderation. A lawyer for the social media company argued in Karnataka high court that “every Tom, Dick, and Harry” has been authorised to issue content takedown orders – a statement that drew sharp criticism from the Centre’s counsel.

The remarks came during a hearing for X’s challenge against a government-run website. X claims this portal is a “censorship portal” that allows officials to demand content removal, while the government maintains it is a tool to swiftly notify companies of their due diligence obligations regarding online content.