The social media platform X has raised its voice in light of which the Karnataka High Court affirmed the content takedown system, which has been in place by the government, where police officials are able to request that online content be removed by utilizing the Sahyog portal. On Monday, the company said it would appeal the decision, saying that the system could allow millions of police officers in India to make arbitrary decisions without proper checks.
Through a statement, X referred to the decision as utterly worrying and stated that it was determined to protect free speech in India. The platform claimed that the new regime has no legal foundation, is not in compliance with the provisions of Section 69A of the IT Act, against the decisions of the Supreme Court, and violates the constitutional right of the Indian citizens to freedom of speech and expression. The Sahyog, which is the online portal in the controversy, allows police officials to enter the takedown order on the basis of illegality, without a trial before a court or even informing the concerned users. X also cautioned that a lack of compliance would result in the platforms being liable to criminal charges, bypassing due process and fair legal hearings.
A petition by X to the Karnataka High Court over the jurisdiction of the Centre to block specific accounts and posts, however, was dismissed. The bench noted that social media regulation is the need of the hour, and that companies should not act freely in India, but abide by local laws. The court further explained that constitutional protections in Article 19 were not extended to foreign corporations but only to Indian citizens and warned that American legal precedents should not be imported to Indian jurisprudence. Those judges emphasized the issues of algorithms shaping the opinions of people and mentioned the possible harm of uncontrolled social media.
Starting in 2023, the Narendra Modi government has been further increasing control over online platforms, adding to the number of officials with permission to make takedown requests via Sahyog, which was launching in October.
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