Sec 79 of IT Act permits officials to block content without institutional oversight: X to K’taka HC

In a significant development to the ongoing legal battle over content takedown directives, X Corp (formerly Twitter) informed the Karnataka High Court on Tuesday that Section 79 of the Information Technology (IT) Act permits government officers to block content without any institutional oversight.

Senior Advocate K G Raghavan, appearing for X Corp, submitted before Justice N Nagaprasanna that the union government has empowered thousands of officers across various jurisdictions to issue takedown directions under Section 79 of the IT Act, each interpreting what constitutes “unlawful” or “immoral” content based on personal discretion.