Government seeks e-commerce companies to access Sahyog platform for data logging
The Indian government has extended an invitation to leading e-commerce platforms such as Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra to voluntarily integrate with the Sahyog portal, a platform operated by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA).
The Sahyog portal, launched in 2024, enables authorized agencies to quickly issue takedown notices under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act to IT intermediaries for the removal of unlawful content. As of mid-2025, over 38 intermediaries, including major technology companies like Google, Microsoft, Amazon Web Services, Telegram, and others, have already joined the portal.
The government's move to involve e-commerce platforms in the Sahyog portal reflects the growing importance of digital marketplaces in user safety, as stated by Dedipyaman Shukla, associate director at Indian Governance and Policy Project (IGAP).
Meta (Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp) is in the final stages of API integration with the Sahyog portal but has not yet completed onboarding, partly due to some technical bugs that are being resolved. Meta has expressed cooperation with takedown notices through the Sahyog portal once fully integrated.
The e-commerce marketplaces in India depend on their sellers to provide information and details, and due to FDI laws, they cannot check the information for veracity or change it on their own. The portal brings all authorised agencies and all the IT intermediaries under one platform to ensure immediate action against unlawful online content.
However, there exists hesitation within the e-commerce sector about whether onboarding would subject them to the same compliance framework as other intermediaries already integrated into the system. There is also a claim that the government is using the Sahyog portal to enforce unlawful takedown requests and expand its control over online speech, a claim the government has denied.
In court proceedings, it has been argued that the takedown notices issued through the portal bypassed the statutory framework of Section 69A of the Act, which includes procedural safeguards. The voluntary nature of this inclusion might create some future complications, as the extent and kinds of notices which may be sent through Sahyog are unclear for platforms not amounting to intermediaries.
The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) sent out a communication dated August 4 to e-commerce firms, inviting them to register on the portal voluntarily. The integration of e-commerce platforms is still in progress and not yet complete.
As of August 2025, it is unclear how the integration of e-commerce platforms will impact the online marketplace, but the government continues outreach to these firms for voluntary registration to streamline cybercrime coordination efforts.
- The Indian government's policy includes a proposal for e-commerce platforms like Amazon, Flipkart, and Myntra to join the Sahyog portal, a move that reflects the growing importance of digital marketplaces in user safety and cybercrime coordination.
- The integration of e-commerce platforms with the Sahyog portal, such as Amazon and Flipkart, might potentially affect business operations, as there is hesitation about whether they will be subject to the same compliance framework as other intermediaries.
- As part of its outreach to e-commerce firms, the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has sent out invitations for voluntary registration on the Sahyog portal, which would help in managing finance, technology, and cybercrime issues within these digital marketplaces.
