Bengaluru: The Karnataka High Court on Friday dismissed the writ petition of Twitter seeking to quash the Union government’s instructions. Also, the High Court condemned the behaviour of Twitter for delaying to comply with the instructions of the central government and also imposed a Rs 50 lakh fine on the organization.
The fine should be paid to the Legal Services Authority within 45 days. The High Court has also warned that in case of failure to pay the fine, a fine of Rs 5000 per day will be imposed. The central government had given instructions to Twitter organizations to block objectionable posts like fake news disturbing communal harmony. Otherwise, it warned of action under the Information Technology Act. But the central government’s action was a violation of freedom of expression, said Twitter in a writ petition in the High Court.
Every person has the freedom to express his views. The lawyers for the Twitter organization had argued that if the instructions of the central government were followed, the freedom of expression would be threatened. It was argued that the central government should send a notice to Twitter and take action only after hearing the arguments before taking action. Justice Krishna S. rejected the argument of the Twitter organization. Twitter did not comply with the central government’s notice by the High Court single-member bench headed by Dixit. Failure to comply with the instructions will result in 7 years imprisonment and a fine.
However, Twitter did not comply with the instructions. After a delay of one year, the notice policy has come to the court. Know that you are not a farmer, you are a rich organization, Krishna S Dixit noted. Under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, the Central Government has the authority to impose restrictions on service providers providing information online. The central government had instructed to block some Twitter accounts using this authority. Under Section 69A, the Government has the power to issue such directions. Action can be taken if the tweet is against national security, sovereignty and order.
In 2021, the Information Technology Department of the Central Government issued an order to block 2851 such tweets. Even in 2022, more than 2000 objectionable tweets were blocked and an order was issued. The Twitter organization, which had questioned this move of the government, has now suffered a setback.
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