X deletes accounts on orders of the Indian govt
Elon Musk’s social media platform X (formerly Twitter) announced on Thursday its decision to restrict certain accounts and posts originating from India in response to executive orders issued by the Indian government.
Although X expressed disagreement with the directive, it emphasised that failure to comply would subject the company to potential penalties, including significant fines and imprisonment.
“In compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts,” the platform stated via its Global Government Affairs division account, without specifically naming the affected accounts or the reasons for their withholding.
While the announcement did not specify any reason, several local media outlets linked the government’s order to the ongoing farmers’ protests.
The statement also noted, “Consistent with our position, a writ appeal challenging the Indian government’s blocking orders remains pending.”
X, then Twitter, had been issued emergency blocking orders for certain accounts by the Indian government during the 2021 farmers’ protest.
After resisting blocking the accounts and links for over a year, the company filed a plea in the high court in 2022 against the orders.
In 2023, the high court ruled for a fine of Rs 50 lakh on the company for its failure to comply with the emergency blocking orders, which was again challenged by X.
