X says will fight Indian court ruling on content takedown system

Social network X on Monday said it would appeal an Indian court ruling that upheld a content takedown system, calling the government-run operation “secretive” and claiming it “has no basis in the law.”

The platform said last week’s decision by the Karnataka High Court lets police issue “arbitrary” content removal orders through the online portal, called Sahyog. The ruling was in response to a petition by X, filed in March, that challenged the government and the system, which the company described in court as a “censorship portal.”

India launched Sahyog (“assistance” in Hindi) in late 2024 to automate content takedowns and allow government agencies to directly order social media platforms to remove content they deem unlawful. Companies including Google, Meta and ShareChat have joined the portal, but X has so far refused to comply.

The portal “circumvents Section 69A of the IT Act, violates Supreme Court rulings, and infringes Indian citizens’ constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression,” X’s Global Government Affairs account wrote in a post on Monday.

Section 69A of the IT Act governs how the federal government can order content to be blocked online, and includes procedural safeguards such as written orders and judicial review.

“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,” X wrote.

In its ruling last week, the court rejected X’s “free speech” argument, saying that the social media platform, as a foreign company, does not have the constitutional right to freedom of expression under Indian law.

“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,” the company said. “We will appeal this order to defend free expression.”

X’s fight with the Indian government comes as Elon Musk works to expand his business footprint in the country. The billionaire recently launched Tesla in India, and secured final regulatory approval to roll out his satellite internet service, Starlink.