Indian court orders police to give users copies of content blocking notices

The Punjab and Haryana High Court ruled that authorities must provide social media users with a copy of any notice sent to a platform to block their content at the same time it is sent. The court set aside a Haryana Police notice that led Meta to block the Facebook page of Haryana 24 News Network and ordered its restoration within 24 hours.

• Court set aside the notice because it was issued by an officer below DIG rank
• The outlet's page was inaccessible in India for 45 days from August 21
• Police must tell Meta to restore the page within 24 hours
• The ruling binds authorities in Punjab, Haryana and Chandigarh