An Indian court has dismissed a petition filed by Elon Musk’s platform X. The company argued that a government portal gave officials wide 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 published.
X has not said whether it will appeal.
Another major loss 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 further restrict online free speech.
X has about 25 million users in India. Technology researcher Prateek Waghre described the ruling as “worrisome”. He said it legitimised government agencies issuing direct takedown orders to platforms. He added the full impact will only be known once the complete judgement is released.
X’s lawyers declined to comment. India’s home and information technology ministries have not issued statements.
The Sahyog portal dispute
The case, filed in March, targeted 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. It described the portal as a “censorship tool” and argued 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 them, companies can be held liable for user content.
Government defends the system
Officials said Sahyog was necessary to manage rising harmful online content. 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 essential and described Sahyog as a “public good”.
He also noted that X complies with takedown rules in the United States. He questioned why the platform refused to follow similar rules in India.
International 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 removal within 48 hours. X has publicly supported the law.
Digital rights experts warned that Sahyog had already caused “a wholesale increase in censorship”. Court filings showed removal requests covering videos of a deadly crowd crush in Delhi and posts accused of harming senior politicians’ reputations.
Ongoing legal battle
X remains the only major platform challenging India’s content-blocking framework. Experts often describe the system as opaque and arbitrary.
In 2022, before Musk acquired the company, X contested multiple takedown orders. The following year, the Karnataka High Court ruled against it and fined the platform 5 million rupees for delays in compliance.
That appeal remains pending. With this latest ruling, X faces another serious hurdle in its ongoing fight for digital free speech in India.
