Working with X to resolve matter, says Reuters on handles blocked in India
'We are working with X to resolve this matter and get Reuters' account reinstated in India as soon as possible,' a spokesperson for the news agency told ThePrint over email on Sunday, after two of its primary X (formerly Twitter) accounts were blocked in India.
New Delhi: World's largest news agency Reuters confirmed that it is in talks with microblogging and social networking platform X to restore its blocked accounts in India.
Users trying to access the accounts were shown the message that the content had been withheld 'in response to a legal demand.'
Despite the restriction on its main accounts, the news agency maintains over 30 active secondary accounts on X, including @ReutersTechNews, @ReutersFactCheck, @ReutersAsia, @ReutersChina, and @ReutersPictures, which remain fully accessible in India. Its news website also continues to be reachable for users in the country.
While X has not officially commented on the specific request behind the action, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) said there is 'no requirement from the Government of India to withhold the Reuters handle', and that it is 'continuously working with X to resolve the problem.'
Reuters is the news and media division of Thomson Reuters Corporation, headquartered in Toronto, with a network of 2,600 journalists across 165 countries.
X, the micro-blogging platform now owned by Elon Musk's X Corp, has previously withheld content and accounts in India in response to government takedown requests, often citing legal compliance.
It remains unclear whether the current withholding of Reuters' accounts was the result of an earlier directive. In May, during Operation Sindoor, the Indian government had flagged over 8,000 accounts, including TRT World and China's Global Times, for takedown over national security concerns.
While Reuters' account was reportedly on that list, it was not acted upon until now.
ThePrint reached out to X for a comment. This article will be updated as and when X responds.
(Edited by Tony Rai)
Also Read: MeitY contradicts X, says no requirement from Indian govt to withhold Reuters handle
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