Elon Musk's X complies with govt order to suspend accounts

X, the platform formerly known as Twitter and now owned by Elon Musk, has taken steps to comply with the Indian government's directives to suspend certain accounts and posts. Despite its actions, X has publicly disagreed with these directives, voicing a strong commitment to freedom of expression.

The social media company made a public post saying it was asked to act on specific accounts and posts following executive orders from the Indian government, which threatened potential penalties, including fines and imprisonment, for non-compliance.

X's official Global Government Affairs account stated that while they would withhold the identified accounts and posts within India, they do not agree with the government's orders and believe in upholding freedom of expression for the affected posts.

Furthermore, X has challenged the Indian government's blocking orders through a writ appeal that is currently pending. It has also notified the impacted users about the actions taken, in line with its policies. Despite legal constraints preventing the publication of executive orders, X has emphasized the importance of transparency and the potential risks of arbitrary decision-making due to the lack of public disclosure.

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

This move by X follows the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's (MeitY) emergency order to block 177 accounts and links across various social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, X, and Snap, according to a report by Hindustan Times.

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