Elon Musk's X to appeal Indian court ruling on secretive content removal system

Social media platform X said on Monday it plans to appeal an Indian court order that would allow over two million police officers nationwide to issue arbitrary takedown requests via a secretive online portal called the Sahyog.

"We will appeal this order to defend free expression," X said in a post on the platform, in its first statement since the High Court of Karnataka ruled last week that there was no legal merit to the company's legal challenge to quash India's content removal mechanisms.

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

X has locked horns with New Delhi in the past, equating the government's mechanisms with censorship. The government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi has said the new system tackles a proliferation of unlawful content and ensures accountability online.

X owner Elon Musk, a self-described free-speech absolutist, has clashed with authorities in several countries over compliance and content takedown demands, but the company's Indian lawsuit targeted the entire basis for tightened internet regulation in the world's most populous nation.

Modi's government has ramped up efforts to police the internet since 2023 by allowing many more officials to file takedown orders and submit them directly to tech firms through a website launched in October.Read about our editorial guidelines and ethics policy