Social media giant X on Tuesday said it is “deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India” claiming that New Delhi ordered the social media platform to block 2,355 accounts, including two Reuters news agency handles. This comes as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology denied making any legal requests to X.
“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 Technology demanded immediate action- within one hour- without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked until further notice,” the statement from Global Government Affairs of X reads.
A statement issued by X expressed concern over the ongoing censorship. “We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders,” the company said. “X is exploring all legal options available. Unlike users located in India, X is restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges against these executive orders. We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts.”
In response, global outcry grew, particularly from media organisations, rights groups, and social media users, questioning the censorship of journalistic outlets. The backlash prompted the Indian government to intervene, requesting X to unblock both Reuters accounts.
An official spokesperson from MEIT denied issuing any new blocking orders on July 3. “The Government has not issued any fresh blocking order on 3rd July 2025 and has no intention to block any prominent international news channels, including Reuters and Reuters World,” the spokesperson said. “The moment Reuters and Reuters World were blocked on X, the government immediately wrote to X to unblock them.”
The spokesperson further explained that the government had “continuously engaged and vigorously pursued” X to unblock the accounts, starting the evening of July 5. However, despite these efforts, X took more than 21 hours to act.
In May, X said it received executive orders from the Indian government demanding the blocking of over 8,000 accounts within India, including Maktoob’s account. The ban was lifted after a week with no clarification on what triggered the arbitrary action.
