India Expands Censorship Powers with New Platform for Government Agencies

India Expands Censorship Powers with New Platform for Government Agencies
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According to an article from Al Jazeera, India has significantly expanded its censorship capabilities by creating a new government platform called Sahyog. This platform allows a wider range of government bodies, including state and district-level officials, to demand that social media companies remove content. Previously, such takedown orders could only be issued by two federal ministries.

The new platform operates under a legal provision, Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, that has not been reviewed by the courts. This enables the government to bypass the procedural safeguards that the Supreme Court had established for takedown requests under a different provision, Section 69a. Since its launch in October 2024, the Sahyog platform has been used by officials to request the removal of content from 3,465 URLs.

While most social media companies have joined the platform and complied with the demands, X (formerly Twitter) has not. The company has taken the government to court, labeling Sahyog a “censorship portal.” The article highlights that the use of both legal provisions for takedown requests has increased, especially during periods of heightened tension with Pakistan.