Billionaire Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, said today that it is withholding some accounts and posts ordered by the Indian government. However, the microblogging platform stressed that it disagrees with the action on the grounds of freedom of expression.
“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,” X’s Global Government Affairs team wrote on the platform. “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,” it added.
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
Some media reports highlighted that the government ordered X to temporarily block about 177 accounts and posts linked to the ongoing farmers’ protest. Just for background, farmers in India are protesting again to demand a legal guarantee for the Minimum Support Price (MSP) for all crops, a full debt waiver, and a pension for farmers, among others. Some sees it as a continuation of the previous protest and calls the latest demonstration as “Farmers’ Protest 2.0” as it follows the massive demonstrations against three farm acts passed in September 2020, which were later repealed in 2021.
Citing legal restrictions, X noted that the platform is are unable to publish the executive orders by New Delhi. “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,” it added. The social media company added that a written appeal challenging the government’s decision remains pending. X has also notified the affected users about these actions in accordance with the company’s policies.
