Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday dismissed a plea by social media platform X Corp challenging the Centre’s authority under the Information Technology Act to regulate online content.

The court emphasized that Indian laws must be followed and that social media companies cannot operate without regulation in the country.

Justice Nagaprasanna stated, “Social media needs to be regulated, and its regulation is a must, particularly in cases involving offenses against women. Failing to do so undermines the constitutional right to dignity of citizens.” The plea had sought a declaration that Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act does not empower government officers to issue directives to block information.

The court further noted that while X Corp complies with takedown orders in the United States—where violations are criminalized—it refuses to follow similar directives in India, which the court deemed unacceptable. The bench observed that such refusal lacks merit and dismissed the petition.

Earlier in March, X Corp had filed the petition, arguing that Section 79(3) conflicts with the Supreme Court’s 2015 Shreya Singhal judgment, which upheld that content removal must follow due legal procedure. Under Section 79(3)(b), intermediaries lose “safe harbour” protections if they fail to act upon government orders to take down content.