We're pvt, user can't invoke free speech rights: Meta

New Delhi: Social media company Meta Platforms, Inc — the parent company of popular platforms Instagram and Facebook-has claimed in the Delhi high court that the rights under Article 19 (free speech) of the Indian Constitution cannot be invoked against it by a user since it is a private entity that does not discharge a public function.

In an affidavit filed in response to a petition against disabling of an Instagram account, the US-based company said that the "Instagram service is a free and voluntary platform" governed by a private contract and the petitioner user "has no fundamental right to use it”.

The high court is seized of several petitions challenging the suspension and deletion of several user accounts by various social media platforms. Meta contended that it is not obligated to carry out a "public duty", and when action is taken against a user in accordance with the private contract between them, it results in a "contractual dispute between two private parties”.