Musk's X vs India case: What is Sahyog portal? A court in India on Thursday (Apr 3) denied interim protection to Elon Musk’s X in the social media platform's legal battle against the Indian government over alleged indirect censorship. The case has been posted for April 24 for further hearing.

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At the Karnataka High Court, X lawyer claimed that the Indian government was engaging in “mudslinging” against the company.  For its part, the government's counsel said social media companies must adhere to national laws unless set aside by the courts.

 

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What is the X vs India case all about?

At the heart of X's complaint are the numerous content takedown orders.  X says that India's Information Act provides safeguards against arbitrary removal of content. Section 69(A) of the Act calls for judicial oversight of such takedowns, whereas the government is using Section 79 to issue the orders, as per X lawyers.

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X also claims that the Indian government has threatened to withdraw safe harbour protections unless it complies with the takedown requests. The platform has alleged that the government rules allow even tax officers to issue content takedown orders, and warned that future authorisations could extend to lower-level officials.

Why is Sahyog portal an issue in Musk's X vs India case?

'Sahyog' (meaning cooperation in Hindi) is a portal of the Indian government. With a vision to 'create a safe cyber space for the citizens of India,' Sahyog describes itself as 'an effective framework and ecosystem for the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of cybercrime.'

X has not yet joined Sahyog portal, which is a a key bone of contention in its case against India. 

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The Sahyog portal was raised as a problem by X lawyers. The portal, made under the auspices of India's home ministry facilitates content removal requests.

According to X lawyers, the Sahyog system is used by officials such as tax officers to issue content removal orders.

This is seen by X as censorship by other means. In broad terms, it's a violation of the freedom of expression rights guaranteed by the Indian Constitution. 

On Thursday, the X lawyer said the government was asking the platform to join Sahyog portal, which it said "is in effect a censorship portal."

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In response, the government counsel said, "any intermediary is bound by Indian laws. Joining (Sahyog) portal is not so grave that you need interim protection." 

The Indian government counsels maintained that the Sahyog  portal is only for streamlining compliance.

The court's decision not to give interim protection means X will have to comply with content takedown orders for now. 

What is Sahyog Portal? Is it for censorship?

The Sahyog Portal was developed by home ministry to facilitate coordination between Indian government agencies, law enforcement and digital intermediaries - mainly social media platforms - for removing unlawful content.

The portal can be used to send content removal notices under the IT Act. The idea is to ensure swift action against harmful content, cybercrime-related content, or content that threatens India's national security or public order.

Using the portal, government agencies, police and central departments can issue direct content takedown orders to online platforms. 

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While the government sees Sahyog as a way to enhance online safety, X has resisted joining it. 

Meanwhile, at least 38 major online platforms have joined the portal. They include Google, Microsoft and Meta.