SC issues notice to Centre on PIL challenging IT Rules

New Delhi [India]. March 3 : The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre on a PIL challenging the blocking of social media accounts/posts without issuing notice to the account holder who uploaded the post.
A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih sought the Centre's response within six weeks on the Software Freedom Law Centre's plea, which said that intermediaries like X (formerly Twitter) often take down tweets on government directions without informing the account owner.
Senior advocate Indira Jaising, appearing for the petitioner, said that while the government has the power to take down information, notice should be given to the person who posted that tweet, and not doing so is a violation of the principles of natural justice.
The law as it stands today mandates that notice should be issued to the person or the intermediary, she added.
The bench, while hearing the case, said it is prima facie of the opinion that if there is an identifiable person behind the post, then he/she should be heard before taking down the concerned post.
The petitioner has challenged certain rules of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.
Jaising clarified that the petitioner's challenge is not to the state's power to order taking down of certain posts/information in exercise of power under Section 69A of the IT Act, but rather to the non-issuance of notice to a person who has apparently put the subject information in the public domain.