The Press Club of India (PCI) has raised serious concerns over what it describes as a growing pattern of “arbitrary and opaque” takedown orders issued by the government against content on social media platforms critical of its policies and actions.
In a statement on April 1, the PCI said that these executive measures, resulting in the blocking of creators and removal of online material, amount to a direct violation of the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
The statement invoked the landmark Shreya Singhal vs Union of India ruling, in which the Supreme Court struck down vague legal provisions that enabled arbitrary online censorship. The court had held that such provisions lacked a clear connection to constitutionally permissible restrictions and created a “chilling effect” on free expression.
According to the PCI, a fresh wave of takedown orders has been issued in recent days to major platforms like Facebook and X. These orders reportedly targeted content posted by fact-checker Mohammed Zubair, as well as independent media outlets such as Molitics and National Dastak.
The press body also pointed to earlier actions in March, when the YouTube channel of 4PM News was blocked. More recently, Facebook pages belonging to Molitics, National Dastak, reportedly followed by over 1.4 million users, and satirist Rajeev Nigam were restricted in India.