X sues Indian Govt over ‘illegal’ content blocking, calls Sahyog a ‘censorship portal’

X, formerly Twitter, has filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court, challenging the Indian government’s use of Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology (IT) Act. The company argues that this provision is being misused to remove content arbitrarily, bypassing Section 69A, which outlines a structured process for blocking online material. X claims this violates the Supreme Court’s 2015 Shreya Singhal judgment, which states that content can only be blocked through a competent court order or under Section 69A’s established framework.

According to the petition, multiple government ministries, including home, finance, railways, and defense, have appointed nodal officers under Section 79(3)(b) to demand content removals. X contends that this system effectively overrides Section 69A, which allows content blocking only for specific reasons such as national security and public order and mandates a review process. The company argues that Section 79(3)(b) lacks such procedural safeguards, making the takedown process arbitrary and unchecked.

X is also opposing the government’s demand to onboard its platform onto Sahyog, a content removal portal operated by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). The company has called Sahyog a "censorship portal", arguing that there is no legal requirement to join it. X maintains that it has already appointed officers as required under the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and that there is no statutory basis for an additional compliance mechanism.

During a hearing on March 17, Justice M Nagaprasanna ruled that X can approach the court if the government takes any punitive action over its refusal to comply with Section 79(3)(b) or Sahyog onboarding. The government has maintained that no action has yet been taken against X for not joining Sahyog. In a separate case before the Delhi High Court on March 18, Justice Pratibha M. Singh stated that arguments related to Sahyog will be heard in April.

X has previously contested India's content-blocking rules. In 2022, it challenged Section 69A orders blocking entire accounts instead of specific posts, arguing that the move was disproportionate. However, the Karnataka High Court ruled in favor of the government in 2023, stating that the authorities had the right to issue such orders and imposing a ₹50 lakh penalty on X. In its latest petition, X claims that the government’s current actions threaten its ability to operate in India, alleging that an unregulated blocking system puts free expression and platform governance at risk.