New Delhi: In response to executive orders from the Indian government, X (the widely-used microblogging social media platform owned by Elon Musk) has issued a statement confirming the blocking of certain accounts and posts on its platform.
“The Indian government has issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject 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 Global Government Affairs of X posted.
The Global Government Affairs division of X also mentioned that the writ appeal contesting the Indian government’s orders is still pending. They have also ensured that impacted users receive notices of these actions, adhering to its policies.
“Due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders, but we believe that making them public is essential for transparency. This lack of disclosure can lead to a lack of accountability and arbitrary decision-making.”
The Indian government has issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment.
In compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however,…
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) February 21, 2024
Earlier in 2022, X’s account with the Pakistan government was withheld in India. This was reportedly the second such incident in recent months. This account was withheld earlier in July 2022 as well but had been reactivated and was visible.
Later in October, based on the inputs from intelligence agencies, the ministry of information & broadcasting had directed YouTube to block 45 YouTube videos from 10 YouTube channels. Orders to block the concerned videos were issued on October 23, under the provisions of the Information Technology.
The blocked videos had a cumulative viewership of over 1.3 crore views. The content included fake news and morphed videos spread with the intent to spread hatred among religious communities. Examples include false claims such as the government has taken away the religious rights of certain communities, violent threats against religious communities, declaration of civil war in India, etc.