Last Updated:
The Karnataka High Court rejected a plea by X Corp (formerly Twitter) that challenged the legality of the Centre’s ‘Sahyog’ portal, saying social media must be regulated.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. (PTI file photo)
Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday hailed the Karnataka High Court’s verdict on X Corp’s challenge to the Centre’s Sahyog portal.
The Karnataka High Court rejected a plea by Elon Musk’s X Corp (formerly Twitter) that challenged the legality of the Indian government’s ‘Sahyog’ portal, which is used for issuing content-blocking orders to intermediaries. The Court stressed that regulation of social media was a must and that unchecked speech in the name of freedom can lead to lawlessness.
Recommended Stories
The decision was a big win for the Centre, which had criticised X for not complying with its directives in India and describing the Sahyog portal as a “censorship portal”. Taking to X, Vaishnaw wrote, “Constitution wins.”
What Did Karnataka HC Say?
While delivering the verdict on the plea on X Corp’s challenge against the Centre’s authority, Justice M Nagaprasanna said the Sahyog portal stands as a beacon of cooperation between the citizen and intermediary. It is a mechanism through which the state aims to control cybercrime, he stated.
He further cited Article 19 (1) of the Constitution, which grants the right to speech and expression with reasonable restrictions. “Information and communication, its spread or speed has never been left unchecked and unregulated. It has always been a subject matter of regulation,” the court said.
“The petitioner’s platform is subject to a regulatory regime in the United States, its birthplace. Under the ‘take down’ law of that jurisdiction, it chooses to follow orders criminalising violations. Yet the same platform refuses to comply with take-down directions in this nation. This is sans countenance,” the judge said.
The court went on to say that social media “as a modern amphitheatre of ideas cannot be left in a state of anarchic freedom” and no platform can treat the Indian marketplace as a playground. It also pointed out that X Corp was not an Indian citizen and could not invoke infringement of Article 19.
X Corp had contended that Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act does not empower the government to issue blocking orders, as that authority lies exclusively under Section 69A of the Act. However, the Centre said the Sahyog portal was merely a streamlined mechanism to ensure quick action against illegal online content and that X Corp cannot claim that it has an absolute entitlement to ‘safe harbour’ protection.
About the Author
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international…Read More
Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Sub Editor at News18. Based in Noida with a Master’s in Global Studies, Aveek has more than three years of experience in digital media and news curation, specialising in international… Read More
September 25, 2025, 04:15 IST
Loading comments…
Read More
