Free speech protections under Article 19 belong only to Indian citizens, not foreign firms like X Elon Musk’s social media platform, X, has lost its legal fight against the Indian government over content takedown orders. The Karnataka High Court ruled that since X is a foreign company, it cannot claim the constitutional right to free speech in India. Article 19, which protects free expression, applies only to Indian citizens. Senior judge M. Nagaprasanna, while delivering the verdict, said: “Article 19 of the Constitution of India, noble in its spirit and luminous in its promise, remains, nevertheless, a Charter of Rights conferred upon citizens only. The petitioner who seeks sanctuary under its canopy must be a citizen of the nation, failing which the protective embrace of Article 19 cannot be invoked.” Sahyog: India’s content takedown portal At the center of the dispute is Sahyog, a government portal launched in October 2023. The portal, whose name means “assistance” in English, allows authorities to directly issue takedown orders to social media companies. X filed its case in March, claiming that Sahyog acts like a “censorship portal.” The platform argued that the system lacks transparency and goes against the spirit of free expression. However, the court disagreed and backed the government’s right to use Sahyog for removing illegal or harmful content. Interestingly, X is not the only company using Sahyog. Other major platforms such as Google, Meta, Microsoft, LinkedIn, and ShareChat also comply with its orders. Rising content takedown orders in India Content removal requests have surged in India as internet usage continues to expand. During the 2020–2021 farmers’ protests, platforms like X, Facebook, and Instagram were ordered to take down several posts critical of government policies. What’s next for X So far, X has not responded to the ruling. Its legal representatives in India also remained unavailable for comment. However, the company still has the option to appeal to the Supreme Court. Legal experts, though, believe the top court is unlikely to rule differently.
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