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In January, an old post on Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, raised concerns for authorities in Satara, India. The post, made in 2023, was a brief message from an account with just a few hundred followers, calling a senior politician from the ruling party “useless.” Police inspector Jitendra Shahane noted that such content could spark serious communal strife and issued a confidential notice demanding its removal from X.
Despite the notice, the post remains visible online. This incident is one of hundreds cited by X in a lawsuit filed in March against India’s government, challenging a broad crackdown on social media content by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s administration. Since 2023, India has intensified its internet policing, allowing numerous officials to request content removal directly through a government portal launched in October.
X claims that India’s measures are illegal and unconstitutional, accusing the government of infringing on free speech by empowering many agencies and police to suppress legitimate criticism. Indian authorities argue their approach tackles the spread of illegal content and promotes online accountability. They say major tech companies like Meta and Google support these efforts, though both declined to comment.
Elon Musk, who champions free speech as an absolute right, has clashed with authorities in the U.S., Brazil, Australia, and other countries over content moderation demands. His legal challenge in the Karnataka High Court against India’s censorship practices targets the foundation of the government’s tightened internet controls, which cover one of X’s largest user bases.
Musk stated in 2023 that India held “more promise than any large country in the world” and that Modi had encouraged him to invest there. This behind-the-scenes legal battle, based on Reuters’ review of thousands of court documents and interviews with police involved in content removal, reveals a covert system of censorship, including how authorities become irritated with “illegal” content on X and the wide variety of material they seek to suppress—from misinformation and hoaxes to news about deadly incidents and cartoons mocking politicians.
Some takedown requests aimed at countering false information, but others demanded the removal of news articles about a tragic stampede, or requests from police to delete cartoons depicting Modi unfavorably. Neither X nor India’s IT ministry responded to Reuters’ inquiries, citing ongoing court cases, and Modi’s office and home ministry did not comment.
While Musk and Modi maintain a friendly public image, tensions are apparent behind the scenes as Musk prepares to expand Tesla and Starlink operations in India. Even supporters of Modi’s BJP have faced online scrutiny; for example, BJP lawyer Koustav Bagchi posted a humorous image of West Bengal’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee in an astronaut suit. State police issued a takedown notice, citing safety risks, although Bagchi was unaware it was removed.
Historically, only India’s IT and Information & Broadcasting ministries could order content removal, and only for threats to sovereignty, security, or public order, with a limited group of officials authorized. But in 2023, Modi’s government extended that authority to all federal and regional agencies, allowing them to demand takedowns of any “prohibited” information under existing laws—often under the guise of “effective” content removal.
Failure to comply can strip social media platforms of immunity, making them responsible for user content and subject to penalties. In October 2024, the government launched Sahyog, a website meant to streamline the process of issuing takedown notices and enticed social media companies to join this system. X refused, calling it a “censorship portal,” and sued the government earlier this year, challenging its legal basis.
X reported that many orders from Indian officials target content criticizing the government and that such actions are sometimes abused to silence dissent. The government’s response highlighted over a thousand posts or accounts removed between March 2024 and June 2025, mostly involving misinformation and hoaxes identified by the Cyber Crime Coordination Centre—an agency within the home ministry led by influential BJP figure Amit Shah.
The government alleges that X facilitates hate speech and division, risking social harmony, and that “fake news” on the platform causes law and order issues. For instance, in January, the cybercrime unit requested X remove three posts containing a fabricated image of Shah’s son, ICC Chairman Jay Shah, in a derogatory context—a request that, remarkably, left two posts online.
Beyond fake news, authorities have also demanded the removal of posts about public interest issues, such as news coverage of a deadly railway stampede or cartoons mocking inflation and flood preparedness. Many of these posts remain accessible, with officials citing concerns over censorship and cultural sensitivities.
In summary, India has significantly ramped up its online censorship efforts, blending legal mandates with new digital infrastructure that critics argue suppresses dissent, silences opposition, and curtails free expression across the world’s second-most populous country.
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