Elon Musk's X Corp faces setback as Indian court dismisses petition on govt's online content rules

The Karnataka High Court on Wednesday (September 24) has dismissed a petition filed by X Corp, owned by Elon Musk, challenging the Indian government’s requirement for social media platforms to join the central Sahyog portal. This portal is part of the government's effort to streamline the process of sending notices to intermediaries under the Information Technology Act, aimed at promptly addressing unlawful content online. "Social media companies cannot be allowed to work unregulated in India," the Karnataka High Court said.

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The Indian government has said that the Sahyog portal will connect authorised agencies with intermediaries, facilitating quicker action to remove illegal information or communication links. X Corp, which operates the platform X (formerly known as Twitter), argued that the portal represented an infringement on free speech and other rights. However, the Karnataka High Court ruled that social media companies cannot be allowed to operate without regulation in India.

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In a related case earlier in March 2025, X Corp filed a lawsuit against the Indian government, claiming that the interpretation of the IT Act, specifically Section 79(3)(b), was an unlawful overreach. The company argued that the government's approach bypassed the judicial procedure set out in Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, which requires a formal court order for content removal. This lawsuit also raised concerns that the government's actions violated the Supreme Court’s 2015 ruling in the Shreya Singhal case, which emphasised the need for due process in blocking content. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, however, maintains that Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act empowers authorities to direct platforms to remove illegal content based on court orders or government notifications.