'This New Regime Has No Basis...': Elon Musk's 'X' Expresses Concern Over Karnataka HC's Order On Social Media Platform's Plea

Bengaluru: Elon Musk’s social media platform X, formerly known as ‘X’ on Monday (September 29) released a statement expressing concern over the Karnataka High Court’s recent order over its plea challenging Centre's authority to takedown social media content. The social media platform said that the HC’s order would allow police officers to issue arbitrary takedown orders through ‘Sahyog’ portal. X also said that it will continue to appeal to defend "free expression".

X is deeply concerned by the recent order from the Karnataka court in India, which will allow millions of police officers to issue arbitrary takedown orders through a secretive online portal called the Sahyog," the statement read.

"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 statement added.

X said that the Sahyog portal allows police officers to order content removal without judicial review.

"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," the X said.

The social media platform further stated the high court's order failed to address the "core constitutional issues". X also questioned the order that the company had no right to raise concerns, as the company was not India-based.

"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. 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 stated.

What Karnataka HC had Said?

On September 24, the Karnataka High Court dismissed the social media platform’s plea challenging the Central Government's orders under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act. The plea sought a declaration that Section 79(3)(b) of the IT act did not on government officers to issue orders directing the blocking of information.

The court observed that the X Corp follows the takedown orders in the United States, the place where the X was. The US administration criminalises its violation.

In March this year X filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court, challenging the Indian government’s use of Section 79(3) of the Information Technology Act.

Published on: Monday, September 29, 2025, 01:00 PM IST