An Indian court has dismissed a petition filed by Elon Musk’s platform X. The company argued that a government portal allowed officials sweeping powers to remove online content.
A single judge of the Karnataka High Court ruled that X’s challenge to the Sahyog portal was “without merit”. The full judgement has not yet been released.
X has not confirmed whether it will appeal the decision.
Another major setback for X
This is the second significant legal defeat for X in India in just over two years. The platform previously failed to block government orders to remove content. Experts warn the ruling could tighten restrictions on free speech online.
X has about 25 million users in India. Technology researcher Prateek Waghre called the decision “worrisome”. He said it legitimised government agencies issuing direct takedown orders to platforms. He added that the full implications will only be clear once the judgement is published.
X’s legal team declined to comment. India’s home and information technology ministries have not issued statements.
Dispute over Sahyog portal
The case, filed in March, challenged Sahyog, a portal run by the federal home ministry. The system automates government notices to intermediaries such as X and Facebook.
Google, Amazon and Meta joined Sahyog after its launch last year. X refused. The company described it as a “censorship portal” and said it bypassed safeguards like hearings and reviews.
X claimed the portal allowed “countless” officials, including thousands of police officers, to issue takedowns without oversight. In July, one of its lawyers said it let “every Tom, Dick, and Harry officer” demand removals. Government lawyers objected.
Platforms that fail to comply with orders within 36 hours risk losing safe harbour protections. Without these, they can be held liable for user content.
Government defends stricter oversight
Officials said Sahyog was essential to manage the growing volume of harmful content online. They stressed the portal only notifies platforms about unlawful material, rather than blocking posts directly.
The Karnataka judge rejected X’s claims. He said social media could not exist in “a state of anarchic freedom”. He called regulation necessary and described Sahyog as a “public good”.
The judge also highlighted that X complies with takedown laws in the United States. He questioned why the platform refused to follow similar rules in India.
Global legal perspective
The court cited the Take It Down Act, passed in the United States earlier this year. The law bans sharing intimate images without consent and requires their removal within 48 hours. X has publicly supported the measure.
Digital rights experts warned that Sahyog had already triggered “a wholesale increase in censorship”. Court filings showed removal requests covering videos of a deadly crowd crush in Delhi and posts alleged to damage the reputation of senior politicians.
Ongoing legal battle
X remains the only major platform challenging India’s content-blocking system. Experts often call the framework opaque and arbitrary.
In 2022, before Musk acquired the platform, X contested multiple takedown orders. The following year, the Karnataka High Court ruled against it and fined the company 5 million rupees for delayed compliance.
That appeal remains pending. With this latest ruling, X faces another major obstacle in its ongoing fight for digital free speech in India.
