X to appeal against Karnataka HC verdict dismissing petition against govt takedown order

Social media platform X will appeal against Karnataka High Court's verdict dismissing its petition challenging the authority of government officials to issue content takedown orders under the Information Technology Act.

Elon Musk-owned X through its official handle said orders issued by police officers to arbitrarily take down content from its platform through a "secretive online portal called the Sahyog" is a violation of Indian citizens' constitutional rights to freedom of speech and expression.

"X respects and complies with Indian law, but this order fails to address the core constitutional issues in our challenge and is inconsistent with the Bombay High Court's recent ruling that a similar regime was unconstitutional," the social media platform said on Monday.

The Karnataka High Court had on Wednesday dismissed X Corp's petition challenging the authority of government officials to issue content takedown orders under the Information Technology Act and maintained that social media needs to be regulated.

The bench presided over by Justice M Nagaprasanna stressed on regulation of social media, especially in cases of offences against women.

It further said the Indian marketplace cannot be presumed as a mere playground where information can be disseminated in defiance of statutes or disregard to legality.

"We respectfully disagree with the view that we have no right to raise these concerns because of our incorporation abroad -- X contributes significantly to public discourse in India and the voice of our users is at the heart of our platform. We will appeal this order to defend free expression," X said.

The social media firm said it is deeply concerned by the recent order from the Karnataka court, which will allow millions of police officers to issue arbitrary takedown orders through a secretive online portal called the Sahyog.

"This new regime 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 Sahyog enables officers to order content removal based solely on allegations of "illegality," without judicial review or due process for speakers, and threatens platforms with criminal liability for non-compliance," X said.