‘Deeply concerned’ over India press censorship, says X as accounts blocked

Social media platform says the Indian government ordered it last week to block 2,355 accounts, including two Reuters handles.

X says it is “deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India” after New Delhi ordered the social media platform to block more than 2,300 accounts, including two Reuters news agency handles.

X restored the Reuters News account in India on Sunday, a day after it was allegedly asked by the Indian government to suspend it, citing a legal demand.

Many other blocked accounts were also restored, with New Delhi denying its role in the takedown.

In a post on Tuesday, X, promoted by billionaire Elon Musk, said the Indian government on July 3 ordered it to block 2,355 accounts in India under Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act.

“Non-compliance risked criminal liability. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology demanded immediate action – within one hour – without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked until further notice,” X said.

“After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld.”

On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld, under Section 69A of the IT Act. Non-compliance risked criminal liability. The Ministry of Electronics and Information…

— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) July 8, 2025

On Sunday, a spokesperson for the Indian government’s Press Information Bureau told Reuters that no Indian government agency had required withholding the news agency’s handle, adding that officials were working with X to resolve the problem.

The 2000 IT law allows designated government officials to demand the takedown of content from social media platforms they deem to violate local laws, including on the grounds of national security or if a post threatens public order.

X, formerly known as Twitter, has long been at odds with India’s government over content-removal requests. In March, the company sued the federal government over a new government website the company says expands takedown powers to “countless” government officials. The case is continuing.

India, the world’s biggest democracy, regularly ranks among the top five countries for the number of requests made by a government to remove social media content.

Rights groups say freedom of expression and free press is under threat in India since Hindu nationalist Prime Minister Narendra Modi took office in 2014.

New Delhi has regularly imposed blanket internet shutdowns during periods of unrest.

In April, the government launched a sweeping crackdown on social media, banning more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels for allegedly spreading “provocative” content following an attack in Indian-administered Kashmir. Many of those have been restored.

New Delhi has also imposed intermittent internet outages in the northeastern state of Manipur since 2023 in the wake of ethnic violence.

The government has justified internet and social media bans as ways to curb disinformation in a country where hundreds of millions have access to some of the cheapest mobile internet rates in the world.

In its post on Tuesday, X said it was exploring all legal options available over censorship but added that it was “restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges”.

“We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts,” it said.

Source:

Al Jazeera and news agencies