World · India Bureau
X tells court takedown notices for IFF, SFLC accounts were fake
The social media platform X has informed a Delhi High Court that notices purportedly issued by police to remove accounts of Internet Freedom Foundation and Software Freedom Law Centre were not authentic. An internal investigation by X revealed the notices did not originate from Delhi Police.
LSN India ·
X has submitted to the Delhi High Court that takedown notices allegedly issued by Delhi Police for the removal of accounts belonging to Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC) were not genuine. The platform's internal investigation determined that the notices had not been issued by the police force.
The development assumes significance as it addresses concerns about the authenticity of official requests for account removals on the platform. The two organizations whose accounts were targeted are prominent digital rights advocacy groups that regularly engage in matters related to online freedom and legal technology in India.
The submission comes as part of ongoing litigation in the Delhi High Court regarding the removal of accounts and the procedures followed by social media platforms in responding to government requests. X's disclosure that the notices were not authentic raises questions about how such documents came to be circulated and attributed to police authorities.
The case underscores broader concerns about account takedowns, the verification of official notices, and the mechanisms by which social media platforms authenticate requests from government agencies before taking action against user accounts.