In a Twitter Spaces chat with BBC journalist James Clayton, Musk was asked about the posts that were removed after the documentary was banned in India.
Musk responded, "I'm not aware of this particular case... India has very strict social media laws." It seems like Elon may need to brush up on his knowledge of Indian censorship laws, but we'll cut him some slack since he's busy launching rockets and building electric cars. The billionaire also added that if he had to choose between complying with a country's law and going to jail, he would choose the former.
For those who aren't up to speed, the BBC released a two-part series on the early political life of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The documentary was met with criticism in the country and eventually banned.
After the ban, Twitter and YouTube removed links to the documentary at the request of the Indian government. The Ministry of External Affairs denounced the film as a "propaganda piece" lacking objectivity and exhibiting a colonial attitude.
India has several laws and regulations in place to govern social media platforms. The Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code require platforms to remove unlawful content within 36 hours and appoint officers to address user complaints. The Information Technology Rules mandate platforms to identify the first originator of contentious content and publish monthly compliance reports. India's Penal Code restricts the distribution of hate speech, fake news, and incitement to violence online.
The Code of Criminal Procedure enables law enforcement agencies to issue takedown notices for illegal or harmful content. Overall, these laws aim to promote responsible online behavior and protect users from harmful content.
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