Elon Musk's X Sues India Over 'Censorship': Report

Last Updated:March 20, 2025, 14:45 IST

X has argued that the Indian government is misusing Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act to impose content takedowns while ignoring the requirements stipulated by Section 69A.

Elon Musk | File Image/X

Elon Musk’s X platform (formerly Twitter) has reportedly filed a petition in the Karnataka High Court against the Indian government, claiming that its usage of the IT Act and the ‘Sahyog Portal’ constitutes an “unlawful and unregulated" censorship mechanism that is in violation of statutory safeguards.

The social media platform has argued that the Indian government is misusing Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act to issue takedown orders that do not adhere to the procedures under Section 69A, which the Supreme Court recognised as the only valid legal framework for blocking online content.

The IT Act states that online platforms X can lose their legal protection if they do not remove or block content as specified by government authorities. However, X argues that the section does not give the government powers to block content and that authorities are setting up an illegal system to block content online.

The next hearing has been set for March 27. Notably, this is not the first time that X has taken legal action against the Indian government. In 2022, the platform challenged takedown orders issued under Section 69A, arguing that the government’s directives violated free speech protections and lacked transparency.

What Has X Alleged?

In its petition seen by Moneycontrol, X Corp has argued that Indian government authorities are invoking Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act as a means to impose content takedowns while sidestepping the procedural requirements set forth in Section 69A.

These requirements comprise recording reasons in writing, providing a pre-decisional hearing, and allowing for legal challenges, all of which are being ignored, says the company. “The law mandates that information blocking can only be carried out under Section 69A, which provides for judicial scrutiny. By using Section 79(3)(b) as an alternative mechanism, the government is effectively nullifying the Supreme Court’s directives," said X’s petition.

The company has also taken issue with the Sahyog Portal, an online system introduced by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to enable police and government departments to issue takedown requests directly. X argues this portal does not adhere to the due process under Section 69A.

X claims the portal has created a parallel framework for content censorship, allowing thousands of officials to order content removals without transparency or oversight. The Indian government has increasingly pushed for social media platforms to join Sahyog, which has sparked concerns among US-based platforms.

Elon Musk’s company has sought urgent judicial intervention to invalidate all content takedown orders under Section 79(3)(b) and restrict the enforcement of orders from the Sahyog Portal until a final decision is reached.

During the first hearing, the government said it has taken no punitive steps against X for refusing to join the Sahyog portal, which the company called a “censorship portal". The court has also granted liberty to X to move the court if the government takes any preemptive action against X regarding the matter, according to the report.

Centre Flags Concerns Over X’s AI Chatbot

This development came after the central government on Wednesday raised concerns with Elon Musk-owned social media platform X over its AI chatbot, Grok, and the controversial responses it has been generating.

Grok, a powerful AI chatbot on X, has recently gained popularity in India for its unfiltered and often erratic responses to users on the microblogging platform. According to a CNBC-TV18 report, the government has sought an explanation from X regarding the responses generated by Grok, which were laden with abuses and regional slang, and the data used to train the chatbot.

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