The Central government criticised the claims of social media platform X (formerly Twitter) that its Sahyog portal is a 'censorship portal'.The government has called these allegations as ''misleading' and ''baseless''.
In an affidavit filed before the Karnataka High Court, the government criticised X for misrepresenting its role, stating that the platform was wrongly equating itself with individual users who post content.
"By raising a baseless concern of censorship, X is trying to portray itself as a user, which it is not. Calling Sahyog a censorship portal is misleading and unacceptable," the government said.X has challenged the Sahyog portal, an online platform used by authorities to issue content-blocking orders. It argues that the government is bypassing legal safeguards under the Information Technology Act, 2000, and a Supreme Court ruling in *Shreya Singhal vs Union of India*.
The government, however, maintains that the law does not give X unconditional protection. It asserts that online platforms have responsibilities and cannot claim blanket immunity while avoiding accountability."X is trying to demand absolute legal protection without fulfilling its obligations as an intermediary. This approach is flawed and goes against the very idea of safe harbour protections," the affidavit noted.
The government also pointed out that X, as a foreign company, does not have fundamental rights under the Indian Constitution."The only legal protection it has is under Section 79 of the IT Act, which does not allow it to interfere in government decisions regarding content regulation," the affidavit stated.
Highlighting that online platforms must act responsibly, the government argued that ‘safe harbour’ is not an unconditional right but depends on following due diligence."Safe harbour protections come with responsibilities. They are not a constitutional right but are governed by local laws where the platform operates," the affidavit added.The Karnataka High Court will continue hearing the matter.(UNI)
