Elon Musk’s X refuses to join Centre’s Sahyog portal, cites own system for law enforcement coordination

Social media platform X told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that it has its own system for sharing information with law enforcement agencies in cybercrime cases and cannot be compelled to join the Centre’s ‘Sahyog’ portal, The Times of India has reported.

A special bench of Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma recorded X’s position, noting that the platform remains the only intermediary that has declined to onboard the portal, while 38 others, including Meta, WhatsApp, Apple, Amazon, Telegram and Instagram, have already joined.

The Indian cyber crime coordination centre (I4C), under the Ministry of Home Affairs, which oversees Sahyog, has held discussions with X on the matter.

However, X maintained that it is not obligated to join the portal and that it has responded to law enforcement agencies when approached directly.

The bench observed that the I4C had raised concerns about X’s past non-responsiveness in cases involving sexual offences against children, arguing this is a key reason for the platform to be integrated with Sahyog.

Other companies on board

Since other social media platforms have agreed to be linked to Sahyog, the court said they need not remain part of the proceedings. It will examine X’s objections at the next hearing. The matter stems from a habeas corpus petition filed by a woman seeking to trace her missing son.

The court also noted that Meta is in the process of completing integration of its systems for WhatsApp and Facebook with Sahyog.

According to a status report submitted by the I4C, 38 intermediaries have already onboarded Sahyog, 15 are in the process, and integration is underway for another 35 entities, including cryptocurrency exchanges. All states and union territories, as well as the Ministry of Defence, have also joined the platform.

Separately, Delhi Police informed the court that it has finalised a handbook for investigators on the procedures for requesting information from social media intermediaries. This includes guidelines on data retention for deleted accounts and timelines for response in cases involving terrorism, misinformation and online fraud.