Digital rights groups support X corp’s legal challenge against government censorship

Digital rights organisations have expressed their support for X Corp’s legal challenge against the Indian government’s content-blocking orders issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act and through the Sahyog portal.

The Elon Musk-owned microblogging platform has filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court, questioning the government’s approach to online content moderation, according to a report by BusinessLine.

At the core of X Corp’s petition is Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, which strips intermediaries like X of their safe harbour protections if they fail to remove content flagged by the government. The platform has argued that this provision is not meant to be used independently for content takedown orders and should be interpreted alongside Section 69A, which specifically deals with blocking directives.

In addition, X Corp has raised concerns over the Sahyog portal, a system managed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). The company claims that the portal is being used in a manner that violates Supreme Court directives and existing laws, particularly Section 69A of the IT Act. X Corp has also urged the Karnataka High Court to prevent the government from taking action against it for not registering on the portal.

Several digital rights advocates and legal experts have voiced concerns over the government’s lack of transparency in its content regulation mechanisms.

Prasanth Sugathan, Legal Director at SFLC.in, pointed out that Section 79(3)(b) cannot be used as a standalone provision for content takedown. Instead, it must be read in conjunction with Section 69A, which lays out a structured process for blocking content.

Apar Gupta, founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), called the Sahyog portal a “parallel censorship system”, arguing that it lacks statutory backing and could overstep existing legal frameworks. He emphasised that the safe harbour protection rules do not require participation in the portal and raised concerns that unauthorised agencies could misuse the system for content removal.

Similarly, Pranesh Prakash, principal consultant at Anekaanta Advisory and co-founder of the Centre for Internet and Society, argued that Section 79 alone does not grant the government power to block content, reinforcing the need for a more transparent process.

Addressing the origins of the Sahyog portal, Gangesh Verma, Principal Associate for Tech and Policy at Saraf and Partners, noted that it was created after judicial scrutiny of the government’s cybercrime management. In December last year, the High Court criticised the government for its handling of cybercrime cases, leading to the establishment of Sahyog as a coordinated response mechanism.

However, Verma pointed out that I4C and the Sahyog portal do not have statutory backing since they were created through executive action by the Ministry of Home Affairs, rather than a specific law. He explained that there is no clear legal provision outlining I4C’s authority to establish the portal, making its legality questionable.