The Delhi High Court has disposed of petitions from IFF and SFLC after platform X confirmed that takedown notices received by them were sent by an impostor, not the Delhi Police. X has initiated a formal police complaint regarding the fraud.
Delhi High Court Disposes of Petitions Against X
New Delhi [India], November 6 (ANI): The Delhi High Court on Friday disposed of petitions filed by the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC) challenging purported takedown notices sent to X, after the social media platform informed the Court that the notices had not been issued by the Delhi Police but were the work of an “impostor”. X, formerly Twitter, told the Court that it had conducted an internal investigation into the purported notices and found that they did not originate from the Delhi Police. The platform further informed the Court that a complaint had already been filed with the Delhi Police to identify the person responsible for impersonating the authorities and sending the purported takedown requests. X also assured the Court that no action would be taken against the accounts of IFF and SFLC on the basis of the disputed notices.
Court Proceedings and Clarifications
The submission was made before Justice Amit Mahajan, who was hearing separate petitions filed by the two digital rights organisations challenging notices purportedly issued by the Delhi Police seeking the blocking or removal of their accounts and certain content on X. According to the petitioners, they had received communications from X informing them about requests purportedly made by the Delhi Police for action against their accounts and posts. The petitions had raised concerns over the authenticity of the purported notices and sought judicial intervention against any coercive action based on such communications.
During the hearing, however, counsel appearing for X informed the Court that an internal examination had established that the purported notices had been issued by an unidentified impostor and not by the Delhi Police. X told the Court that it had initiated action by filing a complaint with the Delhi Police to trace and identify the person responsible for the impersonation. The platform also clarified that the accounts of IFF and SFLC would not be taken down and that no adverse action would be taken against them on the basis of the purported takedown notices.
In view of the statement and assurance given by X, the Delhi High Court disposed of the petitions filed by IFF and SFLC. The matter had raised concerns over the alleged misuse of mechanisms meant for submitting legal and content takedown requests to social media intermediaries, with the identity of the person responsible for the purported notices now being the subject of a police complaint. (ANI)
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