On Tuesday, July 1, 2025, a lawyer representing Elon Musk’s social media platform X told an Indian court that “every Tom, Dick, and Harry” government official had been authorized to issue content takedown orders. This statement drew a sharp rebuke from New Delhi’s counsel in the latest confrontation over content moderation. X has had a long-standing disagreement with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government regarding content removal requests.
The remarks were made during a hearing concerning the U.S. firm’s challenge to a government-run website. X describes this website as a “censorship portal” that empowers officials to issue content removal orders. New Delhi, however, maintains that the website’s sole purpose is to swiftly notify companies of their due diligence obligations. India represents a crucial growth market for X owner Musk, who is nearing the launch of his other key ventures, Starlink and Tesla, in the country.
During the court hearing, X’s lawyer, K.G. Raghavan, stated that the company recently received a notice from the railways department to remove a video depicting a car being driven on a railway track. Raghavan informed the court that while this was news, the government deemed it unlawful. “This is the danger, My Lord, that is done now, if every Tom, Dick, and Harry officer is authorised,” Raghavan told the high court in the southern state of Karnataka.
The use of this colloquial phrase immediately drew condemnation from India’s Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, who retorted, “officers are not Tom, Dick, or Harry… they are statutory functionaries.” Mehta further asserted, “No social media intermediary can expect completely unregulated functioning.”
India’s IT ministry and X did not respond to Reuters’ inquiries. In 2021, X, then known as Twitter, was involved in a stand-off with the Indian government over its non-compliance with legal orders to block certain tweets. While it later complied, the company remains embroiled in a court battle related to that specific move.
