The Delhi High Court has directed Meta Platforms to explain the blocking of a viral Instagram video report that investigated land acquisition practices for a proposed Google data center in Andhra Pradesh.
During a hearing on Thursday, Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma ordered the social media company to submit a brief response. Meta informed the court that it is currently unaware of which law enforcement agency initiated the takedown but pledged to produce the formal blocking order at the next scheduled hearing on July 23.
The legal challenge was mounted by independent journalists Shamsheer Yousaf and Monica Jha, who argued they were given no prior notice or opportunity to defend their work. Their two-minute video reel, which highlighted the social impact of the data center, was blocked in India on May 22, just three days after its publication. Represented by advocates Apar Gupta and Avanti Deshpande, the journalists noted that the video had already amassed 2.6 million views before being restricted.
Investigative Report On Land Pressure
The restricted video was a shortened version of an investigative project titled “Dirty Data,” published in February by the Environmental Reporting Collective. The reporting alleged that Dalit families in Tarluvada, Andhra Pradesh, were being pressured to sell their land to the government for a proposed one-gigawatt Google artificial intelligence data center.
While the short Instagram reel has been blocked, the broader investigative package remains online. A longer five-minute video version continues to be accessible on both YouTube and Instagram, and the written reporting also remains public.
Takedown Mechanisms Under Scrutiny
Upon restriction, the journalists received a notification stating the video was withheld following a government directive issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
Meta’s counsel, Varun Pathak, explained to the court that blocking requests are often uploaded by local law enforcement agencies across the country onto the Sahyog portal. This portal, launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs in late 2024, is designed to fast-track government removal notices to IT intermediaries to curb unlawful content. Pathak requested additional time to track down the specific agency responsible for the order.
Unlike Section 69A of the IT Act, which contains Supreme Court-mandated safeguards against arbitrary blocking, Section 79(3)(b) requires platforms to remove flagged content first, leaving any grievances or appeals to be addressed after the restriction has occurred.
