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Express Tribune
08-07-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
X says India ordered block on 2,000 accounts, including Reuters News
Listen to article Social media platform X said on Tuesday that the Indian government ordered it to block more than 2,000 accounts last week, including two belonging to Reuters News. The move, described by X as part of "ongoing press censorship" in India, has drawn widespread attention and concern. The Reuters accounts, @Reuters and @ReutersWorld, were withheld from users in India late Saturday, with a message citing a legal demand. While access to the accounts was restored on Sunday night, the status of the remaining blocked accounts remains unclear. X claimed that the blocking directive was issued on July 3, 2025, under Section 69A of India's Information Technology Act. The section allows the government to block online content in the interest of national security and sovereignty. Non-compliance, X said, would have exposed the company to criminal liability. Also read: Reuters account restored in India after X block over legal request 'We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders,' the company stated. 'X is exploring all legal options available.' Reuters has not been informed of the specific content that prompted the blocking request. A Reuters spokesperson confirmed over the weekend that the agency was working with X to resolve the issue. As of Tuesday, Reuters declined further comment. India's Press Information Bureau had earlier denied that any government agency ordered the blocking of Reuters accounts. In a statement, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said no fresh blocking order had been issued on July 3. The ministry also said the government did not intend to block Reuters and had asked X to restore access after public outcry. Read more: Reuters' X account withheld in India on legal demand: reports "X has unnecessarily exploited technicalities involved around the process and didn't unblock the URLs," the ministry added. X confirmed that the Indian government later requested restoration of the Reuters accounts, which collectively reach over 25 million followers worldwide. This is not the first time X has clashed with Indian authorities. In March, the company filed a lawsuit against the federal government over a new portal that X claims expands content takedown powers to "countless" officials. That legal case is ongoing. India has pushed back, saying X misrepresented the portal by labelling it a "censorship portal," and that the tool is intended solely for notifying tech companies about harmful content online.
Business Recorder
08-07-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
X says Indian government ordered it to block Reuters News accounts in India
NEW DELHI: India's government last week directly ordered X to block more than 2,000 accounts, including two belonging to Reuters News, the social media platform said on Tuesday in a sharp public attack on 'ongoing press censorship' in India. Two Reuters News accounts - Reuters and Reuters World - were suspended for India users late on Saturday, and displayed a message saying they had been 'withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand'. The Reuters accounts were restored on Sunday night but the status of the others was unclear. X's statement contradicts comments by a spokesperson for India's Press Information Bureau at the weekend who said no government agency had required the withholding of Reuters handles. 'On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like Reuters and Reuters World, under Section 69A of the IT Act. Non-compliance risked criminal liability,' X said in its post. 'We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders. X is exploring all legal options available,' it added. Reuters could not determine what specific content the blocking demand referred to and why its removal was sought. Section 69A of India's IT law allows the government to block public access to content 'in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state'. Orders issued under the section are confidential in nature. In a statement, India's IT ministry said the government had 'not issued any fresh blocking order' on July 3. It did not say if an order was issued before that date. The government did not intend to block any prominent international news channel, including Reuters, and had written to X over the weekend to unblock the news agency's accounts, the ministry said. 'X has unnecessarily exploited technicalities involved around the process and didn't unblock the URLs,' it added. The social media platform in its statement said the Indian government had asked it to restore access to Reuters and ReutersWorld after a 'public outcry.' A Reuters spokesperson at the weekend said the news agency was working with X to get its accounts reinstated in India as soon as possible. On Tuesday, she said the agency had no further comment. The main Reuters account has more than 25 million followers globally, while Reuters World has 718,000. X has long been at odds with India's government over content-removal requests. In March, the company sued the federal government over a new government website the company says expands takedown powers to 'countless' government officials. The case is continuing. India has said X wrongly labelled an official website a 'censorship portal', as the website only allows tech companies to be notified about harmful online content.
Reuters
08-07-2025
- Politics
- Reuters
X says Indian government ordered it to block Reuters News accounts in India
NEW DELHI, July 8 (Reuters) - India's government last week directly ordered X to block more than 2,000 accounts, including two belonging to Reuters News, the social media platform said on Tuesday in a sharp public attack on "ongoing press censorship" in India. Two Reuters News accounts - @Reuters and @ReutersWorld - were suspended for India users late on Saturday, and displayed a message saying they had been "withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand". The Reuters accounts were restored on Sunday night but the status of the others was unclear. X's statement contradicts comments by a spokesperson for India's Press Information Bureau at the weekend who said no government agency had required the withholding of Reuters handles. "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," X said in its post. "We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders. X is exploring all legal options available," it added. Reuters could not determine what specific content the blocking demand referred to and why its removal was sought. Section 69A of India's IT law allows the government to block public access to content "in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state". Orders issued under the section are confidential in nature. In a statement, India's IT ministry said the government had "not issued any fresh blocking order" on July 3. It did not say if an order was issued before that date. The government did not intend to block any prominent international news channel, including Reuters, and had written to X over the weekend to unblock the news agency's accounts, the ministry said. "X has unnecessarily exploited technicalities involved around the process and didn't unblock the URLs," it added. The social media platform in its statement said the Indian government had asked it to restore access to @Reuters and @ReutersWorld after a "public outcry." A Reuters spokesperson at the weekend said the news agency was working with X to get its accounts reinstated in India as soon as possible. On Tuesday, she said the agency had no further comment. The main Reuters account has more than 25 million followers globally, while Reuters World has 718,000. X has long been at odds with India's government over content-removal requests. In March, the company sued the federal government over a new government website the company says expands takedown powers to "countless" government officials. The case is continuing. India has said X wrongly labelled an official website a "censorship portal", as the website only allows tech companies to be notified about harmful online content.
The Star
08-07-2025
- Business
- The Star
X says Indian government ordered it to block Reuters News accounts in India
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Elon Musk and the X logo are seen in this illustration taken January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India's government last week directly ordered X to block more than 2,000 accounts, including two belonging to Reuters News, the social media platform said on Tuesday in a sharp public attack on "ongoing press censorship" in India. Two Reuters News accounts - @Reuters and @ReutersWorld - were suspended for India users late on Saturday, and displayed a message saying they had been "withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand". The Reuters accounts were restored on Sunday night but the status of the others was unclear. X's statement contradicts comments by a spokesperson for India's Press Information Bureau at the weekend who said no government agency had required the withholding of Reuters handles. "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," X said in its post. "We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders. X is exploring all legal options available," it added. Reuters could not determine what specific content the blocking demand referred to and why its removal was sought. Section 69A of India's IT law allows the government to block public access to content "in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state". Orders issued under the section are confidential in nature. In a statement, India's IT ministry said the government had "not issued any fresh blocking order" on July 3. It did not say if an order was issued before that date. The government did not intend to block any prominent international news channel, including Reuters, and had written to X over the weekend to unblock the news agency's accounts, the ministry said. "X has unnecessarily exploited technicalities involved around the process and didn't unblock the URLs," it added. The social media platform in its statement said the Indian government had asked it to restore access to @Reuters and @ReutersWorld after a "public outcry." A Reuters spokesperson at the weekend said the news agency was working with X to get its accounts reinstated in India as soon as possible. On Tuesday, she said the agency had no further comment. The main Reuters account has more than 25 million followers globally, while Reuters World has 718,000. X has long been at odds with India's government over content-removal requests. In March, the company sued the federal government over a new government website the company says expands takedown powers to "countless" government officials. The case is continuing. India has said X wrongly labelled an official website a "censorship portal", as the website only allows tech companies to be notified about harmful online content. (Reporting by Aditya Kalra, Munsif Vengattil and Aftab Ahmed; Editing by Jon Boyle)
Yahoo
08-07-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
X says Indian government ordered it to block Reuters News accounts in India
NEW DELHI (Reuters) -India's government last week directly ordered X to block more than 2,000 accounts, including two belonging to Reuters News, the social media platform said on Tuesday in a sharp public attack on "ongoing press censorship" in India. Two Reuters News accounts - @Reuters and @ReutersWorld - were suspended for India users late on Saturday, and displayed a message saying they had been "withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand". The Reuters accounts were restored on Sunday night but the status of the others was unclear. X's statement contradicts comments by a spokesperson for India's Press Information Bureau at the weekend who said no government agency had required the withholding of Reuters handles. "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," X said in its post. "We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders. X is exploring all legal options available," it added. Reuters could not determine what specific content the blocking demand referred to and why its removal was sought. Section 69A of India's IT law allows the government to block public access to content "in the interest of sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of the state". Orders issued under the section are confidential in nature. In a statement, India's IT ministry said the government had "not issued any fresh blocking order" on July 3. It did not say if an order was issued before that date. The government did not intend to block any prominent international news channel, including Reuters, and had written to X over the weekend to unblock the news agency's accounts, the ministry said. "X has unnecessarily exploited technicalities involved around the process and didn't unblock the URLs," it added. The social media platform in its statement said the Indian government had asked it to restore access to @Reuters and @ReutersWorld after a "public outcry." A Reuters spokesperson at the weekend said the news agency was working with X to get its accounts reinstated in India as soon as possible. On Tuesday, she said the agency had no further comment. The main Reuters account has more than 25 million followers globally, while Reuters World has 718,000. X has long been at odds with India's government over content-removal requests. In March, the company sued the federal government over a new government website the company says expands takedown powers to "countless" government officials. The case is continuing. India has said X wrongly labelled an official website a "censorship portal", as the website only allows tech companies to be notified about harmful online content. Error in retrieving data Sign in to access your portfolio Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data Error in retrieving data
