X tells Delhi HC it cannot be compelled to join Centre’s SAHYOG portal

Social media platform X has informed the Delhi High Court that it cannot be compelled to come onboard the Centre’s SAHYOG portal, which aims to create a unified framework to combat cybercrime, arguing that “X Corp has its own portal to process valid legal requests”. Pointing to the Supreme Court’s ruling in the Shreya Singal vs. Union of India case, X — formely known as Twitter — argued that the SAHYOG portal falls outside the statutory scheme of Section 69A of the IT Act, which empowers the government to order online platforms to block information in specific circumstances. During the hearing on March 18, Mr. Akhil Sibal, the senior counsel representing X, submitted that the Elon Musk-owned platform has also filed a petition before the Karnataka High Court challenging the SAHYOG portal. Law enforcement requests The SAHYOG portal is being developed by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs “to automate the process of sending notices to intermediaries ” to take down unlawful content, its website says.