Social media platform ‘X’ decides to withhold accounts after Indian govt executive orders

The social media platform ‘X,’ owned by Elon Musk, has announced that it has taken action to block certain accounts and posts on its platform following executive orders from the Indian government. According to a statement from ‘X’s Global Government Affairs, the Indian government’s orders require the platform to take action on specific accounts and posts, with potential penalties including fines and imprisonment. ‘X’ has decided to withhold these accounts and posts in India alone, while expressing disagreement with these actions and asserting that freedom of expression should encompass these posts.

The statement also mentioned that a writ appeal challenging the Indian government’s orders is currently pending, and ‘X’ has provided affected users with notices of these actions in accordance with its policies. However, due to legal constraints, ‘X’ is unable to disclose the executive orders publicly, highlighting the importance of transparency in such matters to prevent arbitrary decision-making.

This development comes after ‘X’s account with the Pakistan government was withheld in India earlier in 2022, marking the second such incident in recent months. The account had been previously withheld in July 2022 but was later reactivated and made visible again. Additionally, in October, the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting directed YouTube to block 45 videos from 10 channels based on inputs from intelligence agencies. These videos, with a cumulative viewership of over 1.3 crore views, contained fake news and morphed videos aimed at inciting hatred among religious communities. Examples included false claims about the government curtailing religious rights, threats against religious groups, and calls for civil war in India.