Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday said that it received executive orders from the Indian government demanding the blocking of over 8,000 accounts within India. These directives include a requirement to restrict access to accounts belonging to international news organisations and several prominent users, with compliance failure potentially leading to steep financial penalties and even imprisonment of X’s local staff.
Maktoob is among the news organisations that found their account withheld in India “in response to a legal demand”.
In a public statement, X confirmed that it had begun the process of withholding the specified accounts within India alone, but expressed strong disagreement with the government’s demands.
The company emphasised that many of the blocking orders lacked specificity, noting that in most cases, the government had not identified the posts that allegedly violated Indian laws. For a substantial number of the accounts, no justification or evidence for the takedown was provided at all.
“Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech,” X stated.
The platform explained that while it is complying with the orders to maintain its availability in the country, the decision was not made lightly. “Keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians’ ability to access information,” the statement read.
Although X advocates for transparency, it noted that legal restrictions prevent it from publicly sharing the executive orders. Still, it urged that transparency is essential to discourage arbitrary enforcement and ensure governmental accountability.
The company also disclosed that it is actively exploring all legal options, but is constrained by Indian law in challenging the orders directly. It encouraged affected users, many of whom have already been notified, to seek legal remedies and provided contacts for several legal aid organisations.
Users impacted by the blockings can also reach out directly to the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology at [email protected].
