X says India asked to block Reuters accounts days after govt’s denial

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Elon Musk-owned X said it was directed by the Indian government to block more than 2,300 accounts, including the official handles of global news agency Reuters. The statement comes days after the Union government had denied any role in the suspension of Reuters' X account.

The statement from X came after Reuters' X account was withheld in India, prompting concerns over press freedom and censorship. The main Reuters account with over 25 million followers was blocked in India since the night of July 5, and was restored on July 6. 

The government requested X to unblock Reuters and ReutersWorld following “public outcry”, according to X.

According to the X’s Global Government Affairs handle, on July 3, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets such as Reuters and ReutersWorld, under Section 69A of the IT Act (power to issue directions for blocking for public access of any information through any computer resource). 

"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 social media platform said.

"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," said the social media platform.

The Union government is yet to react to the fresh X claims.

Earlier, the government had denied any role in the suspension of Reuters' X account.

"There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold Reuters' handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem," a government spokesperson had said.

Users attempting to access the handle were shown a notice stating that the account had been withheld "in response to a legal demand".

Despite the block on Reuters' main and Reuters World handles, several affiliated accounts, including Reuters Tech News, Reuters Fact Check, Reuters Asia, and Reuters China, remained accessible within India.

Reuters had said that while it was informed by X earlier about a legal request from an authorised entity to remove content from their account, it could not determine what specific content the demand was referring to.

With IANS inputs