Social Network X said on Monday it would appeal to an Indian court that it called government-run businesses “secret” and upheld a content takedown system that claims “no legal basis.”
The platform said last week’s decision by the Karnataka High Court would prompt the police to issue “any” content removal orders through an online portal called Sahyog. The ruling challenged the government and the system in response to a petition filed by X in March, and the company described it in court as a “censorship portal.”
India launched Sahyog (“support” in Hindi) in late 2024 to automate content takedowns, allowing government agencies to directly order social media platforms to remove content they believe is illegal. Companies like Google, Meta and ShareChat are participating in the portal, but X has so far refused to follow.
X’s Global Government Affairs account wrote in a post on Monday that it “will circumvent section 69A of the IT Act, violate the Supreme Court’s ruling and violate the constitutional rights of Indian citizens to freedom of speech and expression.”
Section 69A of the IT Act controls the way the federal government orders blocking content online and includes procedural safeguards such as written orders and judicial review.
“Sahyog can order content removal based solely on allegations of ‘illicity’ without judicial review or just proceedings from speakers, threatening platforms that are criminally liable for violations,” writes X.
In last week’s ruling, the court rejected X’s “free speech” argument, saying that social media platforms, as foreign companies, do not have the constitutional rights of freedom of expression under Indian law.
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“We respectfully oppose the view that we have no right to raise these concerns because we were established overseas. X contributes greatly to the discourse of the Indian public, and the voices of our users are at the heart of our platform,” the company said. “This order appeals to defend free expression.”
The X-fight with the Indian government comes as Elon Musk works to expand the domestic business footprint. The billionaire recently launched Tesla in India and secured final regulatory approval to deploy Starlink, a satellite internet service.
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