X approaches HC over Centre using IT Act to block content

X, formerly Twitter, has filed a petition in the Karnataka high court challenging the Indian government’s use of Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, arguing that it not only sets up an illegal parallel content-blocking process but also violates the Supreme Court’s 2015 Shreya Singhal judgment, which declared that content could only be blocked through a competent court order or under Section 69A’s structured process. X approaches HC over Centre using IT Act to block content As per Section 79, an intermediary can lose its safe harbour --- which protects platforms from liability for third-party content --- if it fails to remove or disable access to content upon being informed by the “appropriate” government or its agency. It also wants protection from the court for not onboarding an employee on Sahyog, a portal created by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre to “streamline” Section 79 orders. According to X, this system renders Section 69A “otiose, ineffective, and meaningless,” as Shreya Singhal upheld the provision only because it was narrowly defined and had built-in procedural safeguards.