News: The Karnataka High Court has recently dismissed X Corp’s petition against the Union government’s Sahyog portal.
About Sahyog Portal
- It is a centralised platform which brings together authorised agencies, such as the police, and intermediaries on a unified platform to facilitate the removal or disabling of access to any information, data or communication link being used to commit an unlawful act.
- Launched by: Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA)
- Maintained by: It is maintained by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C)
- Developed under: Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, 2000
- Mission: To create an effective framework and ecosystem for the prevention, detection, investigation, and prosecution of Cybercrime in the country.
- Aim: It aims to:
- Facilitate real-time coordination between government agencies and intermediaries.
- Strengthen law enforcement efforts against unlawful online content.
- Bring greater accountability in how notices under Section 79(3)(b) are served.
- Function: It issues takedown notices to internet intermediaries such as telecom operators, internet service providers (ISPs), social media platforms, and web-hosting services.
- Purpose: Its primary purpose is to enforce Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which outlines the conditions under which intermediaries enjoy “safe harbour” protection from liability for user-generated content.
- However, this immunity is conditional: intermediaries must act promptly to remove or disable access to unlawful information once they receive “actual knowledge” from a government authority.
- Operational data: By April 2025, a total of 65 online intermediaries, along with nodal officers from all states, union territories, and seven central agencies, had been integrated into the Sahyog portal.
- Between its launch in October 2024 and April 2025, the government issued 130 content takedown notices through the portal to platforms including Google, YouTube, Amazon, Microsoft, and others.
- Between its launch in October 2024 and April 2025, the government issued 130 content takedown notices through the portal to platforms including Google, YouTube, Amazon, Microsoft, and others.
