Karnataka High Court Rejects X Corp’s Challenge to Sahyog Portal

The Karnataka High Court has rejected X Corp’s petition against the Indian government’s mandate requiring social media platforms to join the Sahyog portal, which allows officials to issue direct content takedown orders.

On September 29, the court upheld the government’s use of the portal, ruling that foreign platforms cannot claim free speech protections under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution, which applies solely to Indian citizens.

Sahyog is a government portal launched in October 2024, that allows authorities to directly order social media companies to remove content.

X Corp had filed the case in March, arguing that the Sahyog portal, launched in October 2024, acted as a “censorship portal” lacking transparency and violating free expression principles.

Justice M. Nagaprasanna stated, “Article 19 of the Constitution of India, noble in its spirit and luminous in its promise, remains, nevertheless, a Charter of Rights conferred upon citizens only. The petitioner who seeks sanctuary under its canopy must be a citizen of the nation.”

The ruling comes as Elon Musk expands his investments in India, including launching Tesla operations and securing approval for the Starlink satellite internet service.

While Musk did not comment on the ruling, he previously told the BBC, “The rules in India for what can appear on social media are quite strict, and we can’t go beyond the laws of a country.”