Bengaluru, 18 July

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta on Friday highlighted the dangers of unchecked online activity by revealing to the Karnataka High Court that a fake, yet “verified”, X (formerly Twitter) account was successfully created in the name of the "Supreme Court of Karnataka."

Appearing for the Centre in its ongoing face-off with social media giant X Corp, Mehta presented the account as evidence of how easily digital platforms can be misused to mislead the public.

"We created this account. It is verified. I can now post anything, and lakhs would believe that the Supreme Court of Karnataka has said it," Mehta argued, underscoring the anonymity and lack of accountability that currently exists online.

The dramatic reveal came during a hearing on X Corp's petition challenging takedown orders issued by government officials under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act. X Corp contends that only the procedure under Section 69A of the Act, read with the IT Rules, allows for content blocking orders.

Mehta reiterated the Centre's longstanding concern that internet users act as their own publisher, printer and broadcaster, making regulatory oversight complex but necessary.

Justice M Nagaprasanna acknowledged the concern of X Corp’s advocate KG Raghavan that such material cannot be introduced across the bar without being formally placed on record, but clarified that the example was presented only illustratively and would not affect the merits of X's case. "Their point is that creation of such fake accounts is far too easy," he observed.