Musk said Twitter should follow local laws in India. (file)
Washington:
Tesla CEO Elon Musk is embroiled in a court battle with Twitter over a failed takeover bid that he now wants to force, saying the social media giant has put its third-largest market at risk by failing to disclose “dangerous” lawsuits against the Indian government. .
In a countersuit filed under seal last Friday and made public Thursday in a Delaware court, Musk said he was “tricked” into signing a deal to buy the San Francisco-based social media company.
According to court documents, Musk said Twitter must follow local laws in India. Snapshots of court documents released by New York Times technology reporter Kate Conger were seen circulating on Twitter.
“In 2021, India’s IT ministry imposed certain rules that allow the government to investigate social media posts, identify information, and prosecute companies that refuse to comply. While Musk is a supporter of free speech, he believes Twitter has “hew” too much. The laws of the countries where Twitter operates Closer,” read part of the legal filings in the Twitter Vs Musk case, New York Times technology reporter Kate Conger posted in a series of tweets.
To Elon Musk’s comments in court filings, Twitter responded that it “respectfully notes to the court for their complete and accurate content. Twitter does not have sufficient knowledge or information to form a belief as to the truth of the allegations,” and that it “so denies. On that basis they are.”
Referring to a petition filed in the Karnataka High Court in July, Musk objected to Twitter’s failure to disclose the lawsuit against the Indian government.
“Twitter objects that it has challenged certain orders issued by the Government of India under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, directing Twitter to remove certain content from its platform, including the content of politicians, activists and journalists, and the legality of Twitter,” the company said in its response.
Twitter, through its lawyer in the Karnataka High Court, said its Indian business would be shut down if it complied with Indian government orders to block content deemed illegal by competent authorities. The High Court issued a notice to the Central Government and adjourned the hearing to August 25.
The microblogging website and the world’s richest man are now headed to trial on October 17 after Musk sought to back out of his deal to acquire Twitter, which he says is a misrepresentation of fake accounts on the site.
Twitter is trying to force Musk to follow through on the deal, accusing it of sabotaging it because it doesn’t serve its interests.
Earlier in April, Musk reached an acquisition deal with Twitter for USD 54.20 per share in a transaction valued at around USD 44 billion.
In May, Musk put the deal on hold to allow his team to review the veracity of Twitter’s claim that fewer than 5 percent of accounts on the platform are bots or spam.
(Other than the headline, this story was not edited by NDTV staff and was published from a syndicated feed.)
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