Supreme Court seeks Meta, X responses on police posts of accused persons

India's Supreme Court on August 18 requested responses from Meta Platforms and X (formerly Twitter) concerning a plea seeking safeguards against the police uploading photographs and videos of accused persons on social media. The petitioner argues that such uploads can prejudice an accused's right to a fair trial and violate their dignity.

The court issued notice to both technology companies and the central government in the case of Hemendra Patel v. Union of India. The bench hearing the plea was led by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, along with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana.

The inclusion of Meta and X stems from the fact that their existing policies do not specifically address the uploading of such material by police authorities. "Neither of their policies cover this," the petitioner's counsel stated. While individual High Courts have issued guidelines on the matter, there is a need for a uniform, operational mechanism for police-generated content on social media, rather than a patchwork of state-level directions.

Both platforms moderate content based on its nature, irrespective of the uploader. Meta's Community Standards and X's local law policies do not directly prohibit police from posting images or videos of accused individuals unless the content itself violates a specific rule, such as hate speech or violence. India lacks a clear law that makes a police post of an accused person's photo illegal.

The Supreme Court acknowledged the challenges of regulation. Chief Justice Kant noted the difficulty of controlling content once it enters the digital ecosystem, stating, "The only problem is how to control it because this is not a border that you can just close down." Even if platforms restrict police posts, screenshots and reshares can carry images beyond a platform's reach.