An Indian court has dismissed an attempt by Elon Musk’s X to challenge the Indian government’s content takedown orders, ruling that the social media platform, as a foreign company, does not have a constitutional right to free speech under Indian law.
The Karnataka High Court ruled Wednesday in favor of the Indian government’s use of a centralized online portal to issue content takedown orders, determining that foreign platforms cannot invoke free speech protections under Article 19 of the Indian Constitution. The court said this constitutional of free expression applies only to Indian citizens. The decision marks a significant moment in India’s increasingly assertive approach to regulating global tech companies.
X filed the case in March, challenging a series of Indian government orders directing the platform to block certain accounts and posts, including content critical of official policies. At the heart of the dispute was the use of “Sahyog” — a government portal launched in October that allows authorities to directly order social media companies to remove content. Sahyog means “assistance” in Hindi. X called it a “censorship portal” and argued the process lacked transparency and violated principles of free expression.
