Elon Musk’s X platform (formerly Twitter) has taken legal action against the Indian government, filing a petition in the Karnataka High Court. It alleges that the government's use of the IT Act and the ‘Sahyog Portal’ creates an unlawful and unregulated censorship system.

X argues that the government is misusing Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act to issue takedown orders without following the correct process under Section 69A. The Supreme Court had earlier ruled that Section 69A is the only legal way to block online content.

The IT Act states that online platforms like X can lose their legal protection if they fail to remove or block content as directed by the government. However, X argues that this section does not grant the government the power to block content and claims that authorities are creating an illegal system to control online content.

The next hearing is scheduled for March 27. This is not the first time X has challenged the Indian government in court. In 2022, the platform opposed takedown orders under Section 69A, arguing that the government's actions violated free speech and lacked transparency.

What X said

In its petition, X Corp claims that Indian authorities are wrongly using Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act to order content removals while avoiding the proper legal process outlined in Section 69A.

According to X, Section 69A requires the government to record reasons in writing, provide a hearing before making a decision, and allow legal challenges, and steps that are being ignored. The company argues that blocking content should only be done under Section 69A, which allows for judicial oversight. By using Section 79(3)(b) instead, the government is bypassing the Supreme Court’s rules, X stated in its petition.

X has also raised concerns about the Sahyog Portal, a system introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) that lets police and government officials send takedown requests directly. The company argues that this portal does not follow the legal process required under Section 69A.

X argues that the Sahyog Portal has created a separate system for content censorship, enabling thousands of officials to order content removals without transparency or oversight. The Indian government has been pushing social media platforms to join the portal, raising concerns among US-based tech companies.

Elon Musk’s company has requested urgent judicial intervention to invalidate all takedown orders issued under Section 79(3)(b) and to halt enforcement of orders from the Sahyog Portal until a final verdict is reached.

During the first hearing, the government stated that it had not taken any action against X for refusing to join the Sahyog Portal, which the company has referred to as a “censorship portal.” The court has also allowed X to approach it again if the government takes any action against the platform in the future.

This comes after the Indian government raised concerns with X over its AI chatbot, Grok, and its controversial responses.

Grok, an AI chatbot on X, has been trending in India for its unfiltered and sometimes unpredictable replies. As per a CNBC-TV18 report, the government has asked X to explain why Grok's responses included abusive language and regional slang, and what data was used to train it.

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