On May 8, 2026, the Cyber Crime Wing of the Tamil Nadu police issued a takedown notice to X Corp, demanding the removal of 18 URLs/posts that were critical of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. The police cited violations under Section 189 (Unlawful Assembly) of the BNS, claiming the posts could incite public unrest. This action has drawn significant criticism from netizens and political figures, including Narayanan Thirupathy, chief spokesperson of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Tamil Nadu, who described it as a blatant attack on free speech. Thirupathy emphasized that legitimate criticism should not be labeled as provocative enough to warrant police intervention. Social media activist Dinesh also expressed concern over the infringement of fundamental rights, questioning the validity of complaints against him for speaking out against political figures. The situation has raised alarms about the potential misuse of cybercrime laws to suppress dissent, with K. Rajasekar, a digital editor, noting that critical posts are allegedly being mass-reported since the new government took office. While police officials maintain that issuing takedown notices is standard practice for managing provocative content, critics argue that the process lacks transparency and fairness, particularly regarding the exclusion of content creators from legal proceedings. This incident underscores the ongoing debate over the balance between maintaining public order and protecting freedom of expression in a democratic society.