BENGALURU, INDIA – The social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has announced its intention to appeal a High Court of Karnataka ruling that dismissed the company’s legal challenge to quash the Indian government’s mechanism for ordering content removal. The decision is seen as a significant setback for advocates of free expression and light-touch internet regulation in the world’s most populous democracy.
“We will appeal this order to defend free expression,” X stated in a post on the platform on Monday, confirming its next legal step. The company launched a direct attack on the government’s content removal system, known as ‘Sahyog’.
“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 warned.
Clash over Censorship and Accountability
X has previously locked horns with New Delhi, frequently equating the government’s content removal mechanisms with censorship. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has countered that the new system is necessary to tackle a proliferation of unlawful content and ensures proper accountability online.
Elon Musk, X’s owner and a self-described free-speech absolutist, has clashed with authorities in several countries over compliance and content takedown demands. However, the company’s lawsuit in India targeted the entire constitutional basis for the tightened internet regulation framework.
Since , the Modi government has significantly ramped up efforts to police the internet by allowing a wider array of officials to file takedown orders and submit them directly to tech firms through a specialized website launched in October, dramatically increasing the state’s control over online discourse.
