X social media platform informed the Delhi High Court it cannot be forced to join the government’s SAHYOG portal.
SAHYOG is designed to help law enforcement, social media platforms, and telecom companies quickly remove unlawful content.
The portal is linked to the IT Act Section 79, which provides safe harbour protection for intermediaries like social media platforms from liability for user-generated content, as long as they follow certain conditions.
Section 79(3)(b) removes this protection if an intermediary is notified by a government agency about unlawful content, requiring them to remove or disable access to it quickly.
X argues that SAHYOG bypasses protections in Section 69A of the IT Act, which requires specific conditions like approval and review before blocking content.
SAHYOG could lead to unchecked censorship, allowing multiple government agencies to block content without procedural safeguards.
X challenges the portal’s legality, arguing it may violate the Supreme Court’s Shreya Singhal judgment on online content regulation.
The Ministry of Home Affairs must disclose full details of SAHYOG to ensure it complies with legal frameworks.
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