Motorola accuses platforms and manufacturers of text, raising concerns about India’s voice

Motorola has filed a lawsuit in India against social media and content creators over what it says are defamation claims, raising concerns that it could reduce the company’s privacy, experts say.

The lawsuit, which was filed in a Bengaluru court and obtained by TechCrunch, names platforms such as X, YouTube, and Instagram along with many content creators, and seeks to take down their content and refrain from defamation or defamation of the companies.

In its more than 60-page filing, Motorola asked for an injunction to prevent the defendants from publishing or sharing what it describes as false or defamatory of its products, including reviews, videos, comments, and a boycott campaign.

The complaint cites hundreds of posts on the platforms, including videos protesting the devices and phones on fire. But it’s also targeting negative product reviews and user reviews that the company says are false or defamatory.

Two developers named in the suit, who have not been named, said they learned about the issue after receiving an email from X’s support team on Tuesday informing them that their account had been named in the action.

In the email, X said he had received the case and was informing the user to make it public, indicating that he could ask legal counsel, contest the case, or remove the content.

One of the developers said that the claims made in the suit were consistent with what they had confirmed, adding that the company had also modified the device. “The brand is mentally challenging us, and they want to set an example,” the creator told TechCrunch.

“It will have an impact,” he said. “I’ll stop covering the good parts.”

India is Motorola’s second largest market after the US, accounting for around 21% of global shipments in 2025, according to International Data Corporation (IDC) data. More than 90% of its devices shipped to India were in the sub-$250 segment, IDC data showed – a price point where consumers often rely on online reviews and word of mouth.

Free speech advocates argue that Motorola’s complaint is sufficient.

“When a single complaint brings together hundreds of URLs and asks for an injunction, it violates the boundaries that the law has previously separated,” said Apar Gupta, a lawyer and founder of the New Delhi-based digital rights group Internet Freedom Foundation. He warned of more “difficulties”, saying that many developers may choose to download content rather than face the cost and stress of litigation.

“The group at greatest risk is the one that consumers rely on the most: independent product criticism that holds manufacturers accountable for real safety and quality products,” he told TechCrunch.

Madhav Sheth, CEO of the latest Ai+ model and former CEO of Realme India, defended what he described as false, to say on social media that “freedom of speech is not a license to defame.” He warned against lawsuits against “false stories or unverified revelations.” His comments drew criticism from internet users who said they could prevent legitimate reviews of products.

Others in the industry had a different opinion. Sunil Raina, managing director of Lava International, he said on X: “If you criticize, you have two choices: threaten or change. One is to make them not answer.”

The case could signal a major shift in how brands respond to online criticism in India. The producer mentioned above said that he hopes that this will happen in the future, since the evolution of the rules regarding the content of the Internet increases the responsibility for producers and platforms – which is shown soon they want to change the IT laws in India its purpose is to increase control over the content of the Internet.

Motorola did not respond to a request for comment. Google, Meta, and X also did not respond.