X raises concern over press censorship in India
Washington: Elon Musk-owned social media platform X has rejected the Indian government’s claim regarding the blocking of Reuters’ account stating that the company had received orders on July 3 to block 2,355 accounts, including that of the news agency.
According to Kashmir Media Service, along with Reuters and Reuters World, the X accounts of China’s Global Times and Turkey’s public broadcaster TRT News were also withheld in India—reportedly since the night of July 5—in response to what X described as a “legal demand.”
“The [Indian] 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 stated via its Global Government Affairs handle.
“We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders. 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,” it added.
Meanwhile, a demand for blocking Reuters’ X account alongside several hundreds of other accounts was made during Operation Sindoor.
It must be recollected that The Wire was among news outlets whose webpages or social media accounts were blocked at that time. The X accounts of news platforms BBC Urdu and Outlook India were also briefly withheld before the order being revoked.
