Elon Musk, in his confidentially filed countersuit in Delaware court, relied on Twitter’s litigation in India to counter the social media giant's claim of breach of their merger agreement by Musk.
Musk has claimed that Twitter failed to disclose its litigation with and the investigation by the Indian government. According to Musk, Twitter initiated risky litigation against the Indian government—thereby placing Twitter’s third largest market at risk.
Musk has claimed that Twitter’s decision to challenge the Indian government’s decisions is a departure from the ordinary course as it has in the past followed obligations imposed by governments, including going as far as blocking pro-Ukrainian accounts for the Russian government.
Referring to India’s IT Rules, Musk has argued that India’s information technology ministry imposed certain rules in 2021 allowing the government to probe social media posts, demand identifying information, and prosecute companies that refused to comply.
Musk has said that while he is a proponent of free speech, he believes that moderation on Twitter should “hew close to the laws of countries in which Twitter operates.”
It has been claimed by Musk that as a result of India’s new rules, Twitter faced various investigations by the Indian government, requests to moderate content, and requests to block certain accounts. India is Twitter’s third largest market, and thus any investigation into Twitter that could lead to suspensions or interruptions of service in that market may constitute an MAE, which is a material adverse event.