Bengaluru: Social media platform X Monday said it was “deeply concerned” by a Karnataka high court order that, according to the company, empowers “millions of police officers” to issue arbitrary content takedown notices through a new portal called Sahyog.X has said it will appeal the Sept 24 order as part of its broader effort to defend free expression in India but did not indicate whether it would be filed before Karnataka high court or Supreme Court.The Elon Musk-owned firm said it respects and complies with Indian law, but argued that the court’s decision fails to address key constitutional concerns it raised in its challenge. It drew attention to a recent Bombay high court ruling striking down a similar framework as unconstitutional.The platform rejected the view that its foreign incorporation prevented it from taking such positions, stressing it contributes significantly to public discourse in India and places user voices at the centre of its operations.A post from its Global Government Affairs handle reads: “This new regime (takedown notices through portal) has no basis in the law, circumvents Section 69A of the IT Act, violates Supreme Court rulings, and infringes Indian citizens’ constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression.”The company said the framework would allow content removal based solely on allegations of illegality without judicial review or due process for speakers, while threatening platforms with criminal liability for non-compliance.The post followed the Karnataka high court’s single-bench ruling last Wednesday dismissing X’s petition against govt takedown directions. Justice M Nagaprasanna held that American free speech standards cannot be transplanted into Indian constitutional thought and that no global platform can bypass Indian law.The court described social media as “a modern amphitheatre of ideas” that cannot be left to “anarchic freedom”. The judge said regulation was vital, especially in cases involving offences against women, and warned that unchecked speech could compromise constitutional rights to dignity. “Unregulated speech, under the guise of liberty, becomes a licence to lawlessness,” the order stated.The judgment stressed that Article 19(1)(a), which guarantees freedom of speech and expression, is subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2). The court also observed that the right extends only to Indian citizens, meaning foreign corporations cannot invoke fundamental rights to contest govt action.X had argued that its business model relies on users sharing lawful information and contended that the Sahyog portal functions as an unconstitutional censorship tool.
