New Delhi: Elon Musk owned ‘X’ (formerly Twitter) has announced the blocking of 8,000 accounts in India after receiving orders from the Government of India.
“X has received executive orders from the Indian government requiring X to block over 8,000 accounts in India, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment of the company’s local employees. The orders include demands to block access in India to accounts belonging to international news organizations and prominent X users,” the micro-blogging site’s Global Affairs department has posted.
“In most cases, the Indian government has not specified which posts from an account have violated India’s local laws. For a significant number of accounts, we did not receive any evidence or justification to block the accounts. To comply with the orders, we will withhold the specified accounts in India alone. We have begun that process. However, we disagree with the Indian government’s demands. Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech,” it has been stated.
The post goes on to say: “This is not an easy decision, however keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians’ ability to access information.
We believe that making these executive orders public is essential for transparency – lack of disclosure discourages accountability and can contribute to arbitrary decision making. However, due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders at this time.”
X has claimed that it is exploring all possible legal avenues open. It has also provided users the mail IDs of legal aid services they can avail of.
“X is exploring all possible legal avenues available to the company. Unlike users located in India, X is restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges against these executive orders. However, we encourage all users who are impacted by these blocking orders to seek appropriate relief from the courts,” the statement added.
India’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) has, meanwhile, stated that ‘a coordinated misinformation campaign’ is being waged by Pakistani social media. “Their objective is to sow mistrust, confusion and panic in India. Do not fall prey to deliberately spread misinformation,” it has been stated.
