Elon Musk’s social media platform X announced on Monday that it will challenge a recent Indian court ruling allowing more than two million police officers across the country to issue arbitrary takedown requests through a secret online portal called “Sahyog.”
In a post on the platform, X said: “We will appeal this order in defense of freedom of expression.” The statement came after the Karnataka High Court last week rejected X’s petition to overturn India’s content removal mechanisms, ruling there was no legal basis for the challenge.
According to X, Sahyog enables officers to issue takedown orders based solely on allegations of “illegality,” without judicial oversight or due process, while threatening platforms with criminal liability for non-compliance, Reuters reported.
This is not the first clash between X and New Delhi. The Modi government argues that the system curbs illegal content and ensures accountability online. Musk, however, who describes himself as a staunch supporter of free speech, has faced similar disputes with authorities in multiple countries over compliance demands and takedown requests.
In India, the company’s lawsuit strikes at the heart of the government’s tightening grip on the internet in the world’s most populous nation. Since 2023, Modi’s administration has expanded its online monitoring efforts, authorizing a much larger pool of officials to issue content removal orders directly to tech firms through a government portal launched in October.
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