X says Indian govt issued blocking order for Reuters, 2,300+ accounts. IT ministry denies
In a post via its Global Government Affairs handle, X said that the order demanded immediate action—within one hour—without providing justification and demanded that the mentioned accounts remain blocked until further notice.
New Delhi: Two days after the Indian government claimed that there was 'no requirement' from it to 'withhold Reuters handle', Elon Musk-owned social media platform X said Tuesday that last week, on 3 July, it had received orders from the government to block more than 2,300 accounts in India, including those linked to the news agency. The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has, however, denied issuing any fresh blocking order.
In the same post, X also expressed concerns over the ongoing press censorship in India. It said, 'We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders. X is exploring all legal options available. Unlike users located in India, X is restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges against these executive orders. We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts.'
On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld, under Section 69A of the IT Act. Non-compliance risked criminal liability. The Ministry of Electronics and Information…
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) July 8, 2025
Responding to X's post Tuesday, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued an official statement denying any fresh blocking order on 3 July, 2025. The government had no intent to block any international news agency, it said.
It said, 'The Government continuously engaged and vigorously pursued with 'X' from the late night of 5th July 2025. 'X' has unnecessarily exploited technicalities involved around the process and didn't unblock the URLs.'
Official Spokesperson, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology says, "The Government has not issued any fresh blocking order on 3rd July, 2025 and has no intention to block any prominent international News Channels including Reuters and Reuters World. The moment…
— ANI (@ANI) July 8, 2025
The government had issued a statement Sunday, saying, 'There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold Reuters handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem.'
Resharing X's post Tuesday, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party-led government. She said it was 'caught lying again'.
Govt caught lying yet again – said they had not blocked @Reuters . Now X says clearly GoI ordered it to block without justification. Shameless. https://t.co/fs693la2MO
— Mahua Moitra (@MahuaMoitra) July 8, 2025
In addition to Reuters, accounts from other foreign news outlets, including China's Global Times News and Turkey's TRT World, were unavailable in India as of Saturday night. But within a day, all of the accounts were back up and running.
The Reuters X handle, as well as those of TRT and Global Times, continue to be accessible in India after the Centre intervened.
With up to 20 million Indian users, X has previously restricted access to accounts in India 'in response to a legal demand'. The company has made these announcements through its Global Government Affairs handle.
According to X's May announcement, the 'orders' that the Indian government has received 'include demands to block access in India to accounts belonging to international news organisations and prominent X users.'
(Edited by Mannat Chugh)
Also read: Micro-blogging platform X withholds Reuters primary, world handles in India acting on legal demand
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