New Delhi, May 8: Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) announced on Thursday that it has begun blocking over 8,000 accounts in India in response to executive orders from the Indian government.
The company stated that it is complying with the directive under the threat of significant legal penalties, including heavy fines and possible imprisonment of its local employees.
“To comply with the orders, we will withhold the specified accounts in India alone. We have begun that process. However, we disagree with the Indian government’s demands,” X said via its Global Government Affairs handle.
X raised concerns over the lack of clarity in the government’s orders. “In most cases, the Indian government has not specified which posts from an account have violated India's local laws,” the company said, adding that many of the blocking orders were issued without supporting evidence or justification.
Calling the move “tantamount to censorship,” X argued that blocking entire accounts, rather than specific content, is excessive and undermines freedom of expression. “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,” the company stated.
