Home / Crime and Justice / Delhi Court: Social Media Must Aid Police Probes
Delhi Court: Social Media Must Aid Police Probes
8 Feb
Summary
- X platform cannot claim exemption from crime investigation portal.
- Safe harbor protections do not shield platforms from cooperation.
- Court notes impracticality of individual platform data requests.
The Delhi High Court has stated that social media platform X must join the Sahyog portal for crime investigations and cannot claim exemption. The court's bench, comprising Justices Prathiba M Singh and Amit Sharma, indicated that 'safe harbour' protections available to intermediaries under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act do not extend to refusing cooperation with law enforcement.
This directive came during a hearing concerning X Corp's plea to be discharged from proceedings related to delays in providing information to the Delhi Police. The case originated from a habeas corpus petition monitoring the efforts to find a 19-year-old missing since January 10, 2024.
X Corp argued it had cooperated and separately challenged the Sahyog portal directive at the Karnataka High Court. However, the Delhi High Court bench pointed out the severe inefficiency of investigators contacting each of the numerous platforms individually.
The Sahyog portal aims to automate notices to intermediaries and expedite the removal of unlawful content, with over 60 intermediaries already onboard. Despite X's counsel suggesting portal participation was optional, the court underscored the necessity of timely information in criminal matters.
