Karnataka High Court on Friday dismissed Twitter’s plea challenging the Centre’s takedown orders issued between February 2021 and 2022 observing it was devoid of merit.

The high court also fined Twitter to the tune of ₹50 lakhs for not complying with the Centre’s directions to block tweets in a timely manner.

“… (Twitter) was given notices and it did not comply...,” Justice S Krishna Dixit said. “Punishment for non-compliance is 7 years imprisonment and an unlimited fine. That also did not deter your client,” the judge added.

“You have not given any reason on why you delayed compliance, more than a year of delay...then all of sudden you comply and then approach the Court. You are not a farmer but a billion-dollar company," Justice Dixit said while pronouncing the order.

While reading out portions of the judgment, Justice Dixit backed the Centre’s position that it could not only block tweets but block accounts as well. The judge has also addressed eight questions of law in his judgment that include if a user is entitled to know reasons for why their account is being blocked, or whether takedown orders should be time-specific, or if it can be indefinite.

The high court has directed the micro-blogging platform to deposit the fine before the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority within 45 days or else it will attract an additional cost of Rs. 5000 per day if the payment is delayed.

In July 2022, Twitter—before the Elon Musk takeover—moved Karnataka High Court against the Centre’s takedown orders where it alleged that between February 2021 – February 2022, the Centre wanted to block 256 URLs, 1 hashtag, 1,474 accounts, and 175 tweets. Twitter told the high court that it had complied with the government's orders under protest. In April 2023, Karnataka High Court reserved its verdict after hearing detailed arguments from all stakeholders.

IT Act "interesting strategy" to ensure compliance: Yoel Roth, Ex-Twitter head and Safety 

The high court order is significant as it comes at the same time as former Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey and Yoel Roth, the former Head of Trust and Safety have publicly spoken about censorship and take-down requests by the Indian Government, especially during the farmer’s protest in India.

Speaking at the 10th edition of the GlobalFact, a global Fact-Checking Summit being held in Seoul, Roth admitted that the Indian government had in 2020-2021, sent several requests to Twitter, to censor tweets supporting the farmers’ protest.

Roth, answering a question by BOOM on requests from the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party government in India to take down tweets, said, "Twitter received hundreds if not thousands of requests not just from the Indian government and others...to remove content that was illegal under the local law. Some of that content violated Twitter's policies but other times, the content was not just not violative but central to Twitter's mission. Content that discussed protests."

Roth then proceeded to add, "A lot of organisation of the farmers' protest in India for example, was reported to the company as being illegal and the Indian government requested its removal. Twitter pushed back on those requests. In some cases, going to the step of litigation to attempt to push back on those requests." 

On July 6, Twitter moved the Karnataka High Court challenging the legality of Central government orders that sought to block 39 tweets and accounts. The government wanted to block journalistic and political content, Twitter's plea said. On July 30, the Karnataka HC dismissed the plea, observing it was devoid of merit and additionally fined Twitter 50 lakhs.

Roth also said provisions of the Information and Technology (IT) Act mandating an office and employees residing in India was an “interesting strategy we have seen used to suppress speech in India and elsewhere in the world” and to ensure Twitter’s compliance with local laws. 

"This (IT Act) ensures the police can show up at employees’ homes if Twitter fails to comply with legal notices,” Roth told BOOM.

A few weeks ago, Dorsey told a YouTube channel that the Indian government made several requests to take down tweets supporting the 2020 farmers’ protest and gag journalists critical of the ruling dispensation.

Dorsey said the Centre threatened to shut Twitter down if it did not comply with its requests. These requests, the ex-CEO said, were followed by “raids” on Twitter offices and employees here. The Indian government hit back and said Dorsey’s claims were “outright lies”.

However, in an April 2023 interview, incumbent Twitter head Elon Musk said the social media platform said it would comply with Indian laws keeping employee safety in mind. In May, while responding to a tweet on an unrelated subject on free speech, Musk said his “preference is to hew close to the laws of countries in which Twitter operates”.

Also Read: Centre Vs Jack Dorsey: RTI Data Shows Rise In Twitter Takedown Requests

Additional reporting by Karen Rebelo from Seoul, South Korea.