Elon Musk is suing India’s authorities over content material regulation and censorship of X, a shock transfer for a billionaire attempting to barter entry for Tesla Inc. and Starlink.
The social media service, recognized previously as Twitter, accused Delhi of issuing arbitrary or erratic takedown notices. It requested the excessive courtroom in southern Karnataka state this month to get the federal authorities to stick to the nation’s legal guidelines when issuing such orders.
Musk’s lawsuit displays rising tensions between web corporations and the nationalistic authorities of one of many world’s largest democracies. In previous years, Delhi has imposed stringent laws governing the operation of social media corporations from Meta Platforms Inc. to Google, together with potential jail phrases for workers.
It additionally coincides with rising U.S.-India tensions. President Donald Trump plans to hit India laborious with reciprocal duties starting April 2, after criticizing the nation for charging excessive tariffs on its US imports.
Whereas a small marketplace for U.S. firms, the world’s most populous nation and its roughly 700 million smartphone customers is considered a key development market.
Musk is attempting to launch his Starlink satellite tv for pc web service in India, an effort awaiting regulatory clearances. India’s hinterland wants satellite tv for pc web, the nation’s telecommunications minister instructed Bloomberg Information this week in a lift for Starlink.
And Tesla is about to ship a number of thousand automobiles to a port close to Mumbai within the coming months, marking its long-awaited debut in India.
India’s residence ministry didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark. The highest bureaucrat within the nation’s tech ministry declined to remark because the matter is in courtroom.
In 2023, earlier than Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, the Karnataka Excessive Courtroom imposed a wonderful on the corporate and requested it to adjust to state takedown orders.
This story was initially featured on Fortune.com
