X condemns Karnataka HC order allowing arbitrary content takedowns via Sahyog portal

Billionaire Elon Musk’s social media platform X on Monday expressed serious concerns about a recent Karnataka high court order that dismissed its plea to declare the union government’s Sahyog portal unconstitutional.

Through its handle @GlobalAffairs, the company announced that it intends to appeal against this decision. In a statement, it said, “X is deeply concerned by the recent order from the Karnataka court in India, which will allow millions of police officers to issue arbitrary takedown orders through a secretive online portal called the Sahyog.”



The Sahyog portal, launched by the Ministry of Home Affairs, gives the government the power to send takedown notices for content it considers unlawful.

X argues that this new regime is not backed by law, bypasses Section 69A of the IT Act, ignores Supreme Court rulings, and violates Indian citizens’ constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression.

Section 69A of the IT Act authorises the government to block access to information, but this power is limited and must follow specific rules and safeguards under the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.

“The Sahyog enables officers to order content removal based solely on allegations of ‘illegality,’ without judicial review or due process for the speakers, and threatens platforms with criminal liability for non-compliance,” the company said.

X emphasised that it respects and follows Indian law but believes the court order “fails to address the core constitutional issues in our challenge and is inconsistent with the Bombay High Court’s recent ruling that a similar regime was unconstitutional”.

The company also disagrees with the view that it cannot raise these issues due to its foreign incorporation, stating, “We respectfully disagree with the view that we have no right to raise these concerns because of our incorporation abroad—X contributes significantly to public discourse in India and the voice of our users is at the heart of our platform."

"We will appeal this order to defend free expression,” it added.

In its order, the Karnataka High Court also rejected X’s request to declare that Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act does not give the government authority to issue content removal orders to platforms.

Section 79 offers legal protection to intermediaries from liability for third-party content, provided certain conditions are met. However, Section 79(3)(b) of India’s Information Technology Act, 2000 (IT Act) explains that an intermediary can lose this "safe harbour" protection and become liable for third-party content if it failed to comply with orders to take down unlawful content. Together with Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, it also allows the issue of takedown orders.

The court, recognising social media as a “modern amphitheatre of ideas,” rejected the idea that these platforms can exist without regulation. Justice M Nagaprasanna said every sovereign nation, including the US, has its own rules. The court warned that letting social media operate in India without legal oversight would threaten “both the rule of law and the fabric of social order”.