An Indian court has dismissed Elon Musk’s X’s challenge to government content takedown directives, ruling that the social media platform, as a foreign company, cannot invoke constitutional protections of free speech.
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Delivering judgment on Wednesday, the Karnataka High Court upheld the federal government’s use of the Sahyog portal to issue takedown notices, stressing that Article 19 of the Indian Constitution which guarantees freedom of speech and expression applies only to citizens of India.
“Article 19 of the Constitution of India, noble in its spirit and luminous in its promise, remains, nevertheless, a Charter of Rights conferred upon citizens only. The petitioner who seeks sanctuary under its canopy must be a citizen of the nation, failing which the protective embrace of Article 19 cannot be invoked,” Justice M. Nagaprasanna ruled in a decision livestreamed from the court.
X had filed the case in March, contesting multiple government orders to block certain accounts and posts, including content critical of official policies. At the heart of the dispute was Sahyog (meaning “assistance” in Hindi), an online portal launched last October that allows authorities to order social media platforms to remove content directly. X labeled it a “censorship portal,” arguing it lacked transparency and undermined free expression.
The ruling represents a major step in India’s assertive regulation of global tech platforms. It comes as Musk deepens his investments in the country, including Tesla’s launch operations and regulatory approval for his satellite internet service, Starlink.
So far, neither Musk nor X has publicly commented on the ruling. A local legal representative for X was also unavailable for immediate comment.
Analysts have voiced concern over the judgment’s implications. Kazim Rizvi, director of the New Delhi-based think tank The Dialogue, said while the ruling may improve coordination between government and platforms, safeguards under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, should not be bypassed. “The portal should operate strictly as a coordination and collection layer… any binding action should originate from a competent authority,” he warned.
India has sharply increased takedown orders in recent years, particularly during the 2020–2021 farmers’ protests, when authorities sought to curtail widespread online mobilization. Several platforms, including X, Facebook, and Instagram, were directed to block protest-related content.
The Sahyog portal, introduced in 2024, is already integrated with Microsoft, Google, Meta, LinkedIn, and ShareChat to streamline removals through automated government requests.
In February, X acknowledged withholding accounts in response to official directives, citing risk of penalties, fines, and imprisonment if it refused compliance. Musk, who calls himself a “free speech absolutist,” previously admitted in a BBC interview that India’s social media laws were “quite strict” and companies “can’t go beyond the laws of a country.”
Legal experts believe the case is unlikely to find more favorable treatment at the Supreme Court if appealed, with many predicting the top court will uphold the same interpretation of constitutional limits.
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