The Kerala High Court on April 28 issued notices to the Centre and Meta in a petition filed by Madhyamam Broadcasting Ltd, which runs the MediaOne news channel, challenging the blocking of its Facebook page in India, according to a LiveLaw report.

Justice K.V. Jayakumar asked the respondents to file their replies and scheduled the matter for further hearing on May 5.

According to the petition, MediaOne’s Facebook page became inaccessible to users in India on April 23 after a notice stated that the restriction followed a request from the Government of India or law enforcement authorities under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The broadcaster told the court that the page had been active since 2011 and was a major platform for distributing its news content online. It claimed the block disrupted its digital operations and affected its revenue, estimated at nearly Rs 25 lakh per month.

Challenge to blocking order: MediaOne argued that neither Meta nor the government shared any blocking order issued under Section 69A of the IT Act, or provided reasons, prior notice, or a hearing before restricting access.

The petition said Section 79(3)(b) does not independently allow the government or intermediaries to block content. It relied on the Supreme Court’s ruling in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India, which held that platforms can act on content takedown requests only through a court order or a valid Section 69A blocking direction.

The broadcaster also challenged the scope of the action, arguing that the law allows blocking of specific content, not entire accounts or pages. It said the blanket restriction violated provisions of the IT Act, the Blocking Rules of 2009, and the IT Rules, 2021, which require content-specific action.

The petition further claimed that the blocking violated its rights under Articles 14, 19(1)(a), 19(1)(g), and 300A of the Constitution.

Wider pattern of restrictions: The case comes amid a broader rise in account restrictions, content removals or takedowns in India. In recent weeks, independent news content publisher Molitics said its Facebook page was blocked in India under Section 79(3)(b), while its Instagram account was later suspended. The platform told the Delhi High Court that it was not given prior notice or an opportunity to respond and argued that the law permits the removal of specific content, not the blanket blocking of entire accounts.

MediaNama’s recent censorship tracking documented more than 40 instances of account restrictions, content removals, or takedowns in March 2026 alone, affecting news platforms, satirists, political commentators, and individual users across Facebook, Instagram, X, and YouTube.

Faster takedowns under new rules: The developments follow the government’s move in February to tighten compliance timelines for online content, reducing the response window for platforms from 36 hours to three hours. Separately, reports indicate that India is now one of the countries where Meta can automatically restrict flagged content soon after receiving government requests.

MediaOne has asked the court to restore access to its Facebook page in India and declare the blocking action illegal and unconstitutional.

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