CHENNAI: Days before TVK president C Joseph Vijay assumed office as the chief minister, the TN police’s Cyber Crime Wing issued a takedown notice to X Corp seeking the suspension of 18 URLs linked to posts by several users, including YouTuber Maridhas and multiple DMK supporters.
The notice, dated May 8, 2026, was issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, 2000. It directed X to suspend or block access to the listed URLs within three hours and submit a compliance report.
As per the order, the social media cell of TN police flagged the posts for allegedly containing “provocative and politically sensitive remarks” capable of affecting law and order. It also cited BNS Section 189 as the provision allegedly violated.
The notice stated that if X failed to remove or block the flagged posts immediately, the platform could lose its intermediary protection under IT Act and face prosecution.
Reacting to the development, the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) said it highlighted how online censorship increasingly operates through a “blurred chain of responsibility”. Meanwhile, cyber crime officials said the notice was a routine official order issued by the department.
