X raises alarm over press censorship in India after Reuters account briefly withheld
Elon Musk-owned social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has raised serious concerns about what it calls “ongoing press censorship” in India, following the brief withholding of global news agency Reuters’ account in the country.
In a statement posted on Tuesday, X’s Global Government Affairs team revealed that on July 3, the Indian government ordered the platform to block 2,355 accounts under Section 69A of the IT Act—Reuters’ official account among them. X claimed it was given just one hour to comply and received no explanation for the action. The post also noted that failure to comply could have led to 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 company said.
According to X, the Indian government later requested that Reuters and its affiliated account, Reuters World, be unblocked following public backlash. The accounts, along with those of other global media outlets including Turkey’s TRT World and China’s Global Times News, were restored within 24 hours.
X said it was “deeply concerned” by the situation and is exploring legal options to challenge such directives. “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,” the company added.
Responding to the controversy, an IT ministry spokesperson stated there was “no requirement” from the government to withhold Reuters’ account and said the ministry was actively working with X to resolve the issue. Sources within the ministry suggested the blocks may have occurred due to a “technical issue.”
The incident has sparked debate over press freedom and the increasing use of emergency powers by governments to regulate digital platforms, especially in democracies like India.
