A central government committee has upheld the ban on the Diljit Dosanjh-starrer film Satluj, citing concerns over India's sovereignty and integrity, sparking political debate in Punjab.
The Indian government is considering amending the IT Rules 2021 to introduce compulsory certification for films released on OTT platforms, following a controversy involving the film 'Satluj' which was released without clearances and later taken down due to national security concerns.
The Indian government has temporarily restricted access to the Telegram messaging app and disabled its message-editing feature in India until June 22, 2026, and June 30, 2026, respectively, ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination to combat organised cheating rackets.
The Delhi High Court has upheld the Indian government's decision to temporarily restrict access to Telegram, citing the messaging app's capacity for 'automated dissemination' of large content, which could facilitate misinformation during the crucial NEET-UG retest.
The Delhi High Court has asked the Centre to respond to Telegram's petition challenging a temporary government order that restricts access to its platform and disables message-editing features in India, citing concerns over potential cheating during the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination.
'We are considering this to ensure swift action on content for which the respective ministries have domain experts and can better determine the illegality of the content or the web site that needs to be taken down.'
The Delhi high court ordered the restoration of the Cockroach Janta Party's X handle on Tuesday after the Centre informed it that the account was withheld to prevent "chaos" ahead of the NEET re-test and that there would be no difficulty revoking it now.
Google has removed the messaging app Telegram from its Play Store in India, with Apple expected to follow, in compliance with a government order aimed at preventing paper leaks during the upcoming NEET-UG re-examination on June 21. The government has also directed Telegram to temporarily disable its message-editing feature until June 30.
The Delhi High Court has questioned the Centre's decision to temporarily restrict access to Telegram ahead of the NEET-UG 2026 re-examination, asking how the rights of 150 million users can be curtailed due to concerns over a few miscreants. The court reserved its verdict after hearing arguments from both sides.
The Punjab Police has requested the Centre to direct ZEE5 to halt the airing of the docu-series 'Lawrence of Punjab' on gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, citing a significant risk to public order and potential influence on youth towards criminal activities.
The Delhi High Court has asked a review committee to examine the blocking of the Cockroach Janta Party's X account, refusing to order its immediate unblocking but allowing the party's founder to appear before the committee.
The CJP's rapid rise on social media reflects growing digital dissent and youth frustration with issues like unemployment and exam-paper leaks.
The Punjab Police has requested the Centre to direct ZEE5 to halt the airing of the docu-series 'Lawrence of Punjab' on gangster Lawrence Bishnoi, citing a significant risk to public order and potential influence on youth towards criminal activities.
The action was taken under Section 69A of the Act that empowers the government to block any information generated, transmitted, received, stored or hosted in any computer resource in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign states or public order or for preventing incitement to the commission of any cognisable offence.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta revealed a fake, verified X account created in the name of the 'Supreme Court of Karnataka' to highlight the dangers of unchecked online activity during a hearing on X Corp's petition challenging government takedown orders.
Kerala's voters are sophisticated, educated, and unforgiving. They have once again made it clear that no government is entitled to remain in power. The Congress would do well to remember this, points out Ramesh Menon.
These platforms carry with it the solemn duty of accountability to hold, otherwise it will imperil both the rule of law and the fabric of social harmony, the court observed.
X calls the home ministry's Sahyog portal a 'censorship portal', stating it usurps judicial functions.
Social media giant 'X' (formerly Twitter) has filed a lawsuit in the Karnataka High Court against the Government of India, challenging what it called unlawful content regulation and arbitrary censorship. The lawsuit argues that the government's use of Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology (IT) Act violates Supreme Court rulings and undermines free expression online. 'X' further claims that the government's Sahyog portal acts as a "censorship tool" that pressures platforms to remove content without proper legal review.
Maharashtra Cyber has issued advisories to various state government departments, including police, to take precautionary steps to avoid cyber attacks after the credentials of many of these departments were found on the darknet. The departments include the Maharashtra Public Service Commission, the Directorate General of Information and Public Relations (DGIPR), the Electricity Department, Maha DBT, among others. Maharashtra Cyber has also written to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recommending blocking of Wikipedia and Proton Mail platforms under relevant sections of the Information Technology Act for failing to comply with specific police directives.
Head Digital Works, operator of 'A23 Rummy', has filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court against the recently passed Central Act banning money-based online games, marking the first legal challenge to the legislation. The court will hear the petition on August 30.
The Indian government has said that social media platform X will be held responsible for content generated by its artificial intelligence tool Grok. This comes after users on X asked Grok questions about Indian politicians and the AI platform responded with "unpalatable" answers. The government is currently in discussion with X to understand and assess how Grok works. The government has previously taken action against social media platforms for AI-generated content that has been deemed offensive. In this case, the government is considering holding X accountable for Grok's content, even though it is generated by an AI tool. The government's stance is likely to have implications for other social media platforms that use AI tools.
The Madras High Court has ordered Ananda Vikatan Productions Private Limited to remove a caricature depicting Prime Minister Narendra Modi shackled in chains during a meeting with United States President Donald Trump. The court ruled that the caricature, published in the magazine, was not protected under freedom of expression and could be considered offensive under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. The court also directed the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to unblock the Ananda Vikatan website upon receipt of confirmation that the caricature has been removed.
A lawyer for Elon Musk's X told the Karnataka high court on Tuesday that if every "Tom, Dick and Harry" government official is authorised to send content takedown notices then it would amount to misuse of official powers, remarks that drew strong condemnation from the Centre as well as the judge.
The microblogging site has challenged a government order issued in June 2022, terming the blocking orders 'overbroad and arbitrary', adding that the requests failed to provide notice to the originators of the content and were disproportionate in several cases.
The Centre's decision to block the entire social media account of 'Hindutva Watch' on the basis of certain alleged offending posts is 'disproportionate' and contrary to the law, social media giant 'X' has told the Delhi high court.
The government on Tuesday blocked access to 43 more Chinese mobile apps, including Alibaba Workbench, AliExpress, Alipay Cashier, CamCard and WeDate, for being prejudicial to the sovereignty, integrity and defence of the nation.
The single-judge bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit which dictated the operative portion of the judgement also imposed a cost of Rs 50 lakh on Twitter and ordered it to be paid to the Karnataka State Legal Services Authority within 45 days.
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Microblogging site Twitter (now X Corp) has approached the high court of Karnataka against the earlier order of a single judge bench which had dismissed its petition challenging the Centre's blocking orders.
The government started the crackdown against such YouTube channels for the first time in December last year using its emergency powers under the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
The Delhi high court on Tuesday sought the Centre's response on a plea challenging the new Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which seeks to regulate digital news media.
The high court of Karnataka on Tuesday observed that it would be suitable if an age limit was introduced for using social media akin to the legal age for drinking alcohol.
The IT ministry has now written to all these companies, warning that continued availability and operation of these banned apps, directly or indirectly, is not only illegal but also an offence under the Information Technology Act and other applicable Acts, which would attract penal provisions.
The matter had been flagged by a Twitter user, who highlighted that the Wikipedia page on India-Bhutan relationship had incorrectly depicted the map of Jammu Kashmir, and asked the government to take action.
The government has ordered the blocking of 45 videos from 10 YouTube channels that contained fake news and morphed content with the intent to spread hatred amongst religious communities, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said on Monday.
The ministry of home affairs has recommended a ban on 54 Chinese mobile applications that pose a threat to the country's security, officials sources said on Monday.
The government on Wednesday ordered Twitter to immediately take down handles and hashtags that suggested a farmer genocide was being planned, saying such misinformation and inflammatory content will incite passion, and impact public order.
The government on Thursday ordered blocking of eight YouTube channels, including one operating from Pakistan, for allegedly spreading disinformation related to India's national security, foreign relations and public order.
The IT Amendment Act, 2008, if notified, will give the government blanket power to block news portals and other sites for 'offensive' content.