X Blocks Reuters Accounts in India Amid Concerns Over Press Censorship

Last week, the Indian government mandated that the social media platform X block more than 2,000 accounts, which notably included two affiliated with Reuters News. This action spurred a vocal response from X, which labeled the situation as an instance of "ongoing press censorship" in India. The suspension of the Reuters accounts, @Reuters and @ReutersWorld, was effective for Indian users, showing a message that indicated the accounts were withheld in response to a legal demand. Although the accounts were reinstated by Sunday night, the status of the other blocked accounts remained ambiguous.

China and India are currently in competition to construct large dams along their contested border in the Himalayas. X's assertion challenges statements from the Indian Press Information Bureau, which claimed that no government agency had mandated restrictions on the Reuters accounts. On July 3, the Indian government directed X to block a total of 2,355 accounts under the IT Act's Section 69A, citing reasons related to India's sovereignty and security. X expressed deep concern over what it called ongoing press censorship and mentioned that they were reviewing legal avenues in response to the blocking orders.

The Reuters agency was left unclear on which specific content prompted the blocking demand. According to Section 69A of the IT law, the government has the authority to restrict access to public content when it pertains to issues of national interest. In a contradictory note, India's IT Ministry stated that it had not issued any recent blocking orders and did not clarify if any had been made prior to that date. The government also expressed its intent not to restrict access to major international news outlets, including Reuters, and communicated with X to restore the agency's accounts.

The social media platform reported that the Indian government requested the restoration of the @Reuters and @ReutersWorld accounts following a notable public backlash. A representative from Reuters mentioned that the agency was collaborating with X to expedite the reinstatement of its accounts in India. By Tuesday, further comments from Reuters were not provided. The primary Reuters account boasts a follower count of over 25 million globally, while Reuters World has around 718,000 followers.

X has historically faced challenges from the Indian government regarding content removal demands. Earlier this year, the company initiated legal action against the federal government, arguing that new regulations expanded the authority of numerous government officials to request content removal, which X deemed excessive. In response, India contested that X improperly labeled an official website as a "censorship portal," emphasizing that it was merely a site for tech companies to receive notifications regarding harmful online content.