Microblogging site Twitter recently filed a suit in Karnataka High Court questioning the government’s authority to block accounts on its platform. Government orders have also been challenged on the ground of not being in line with the procedural requirements of Blocking Rules 2009 framed under the Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act).
Twitter has millions of account-holders and followers living in different countries. Each country may have its own rules for dealing with the rights and obligations of digital platforms. Such platforms are global – they are not confined to any national boundaries. Thus, blocking tweets on the orders of one government might cause a breach of the rules of another country.
The present case provides the right opportunity to examine the way the legal and governance frameworks for digital economy and society have evolved and the direction they are going in.