India and South Asia Policy Head for X, formerly Twitter, Samiran Gupta has announced to step down from the position, Reuters reported on Saturday. While the exact reasons for Gupta’s resignation remain undisclosed, the move comes at a time when the social media platform fights a court battle with the Indian government over content censorship and removal policies.
During his tenure, Gupta played a pivotal role in shaping the social media platform’s policies and strategies for India and the South Asia region. According to his LinkedIn, Gupta handled content-related policy issues at X and negotiated favorable outcomes for all government policy implementation, defended the company’s position with new policy developments, and supported the in-country sales organization. He also closely worked with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology & CERT-In, Ministry of External Affairs, Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Ministry of Home Affairs for online content and security matters in the country. He also collaborated with the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority of India and the Reserve Bank of India for regulatory compliance. Furthermore, he engaged with the Election Commission of India and led cross-functional teams in public elections for protection against misinformation. In addition, he also headed Twitter’s effort to launch payment services in India and South Asia.
His departure may lead to changes in how the platform addresses issues related to content moderation, user engagement, and partnerships in this crucial market. X is yet to announce a successor to Gupta, leaving stakeholders curious about the future direction the company will take in India and South Asia. Gupta’s next career move also remains unknown at the moment.
This development has drawn attention as it comes amidst the ever-evolving landscape of social media regulations and while the Indian government has been involved in a legal battle with X. India has labeled X as a “habitual non-compliant platform” as the company did not follow the content-blocking orders for a long period in several instances. In June, the court imposed a fine of five million rupees on X for not complying with several content removal orders for over a year. Last month the social media company appealed against the recent court ruling.
