India’s government ordered X to take down certain accounts and posts to prevent social media users from seeing them. X said it will comply but disagrees with India’s request.
A post on the social platform’s global government affairs account says in part, “in compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts.”
The post also explained that details of the executive order cannot be made public, something it also disagrees with and wants changed for the sake of transparency.
Local media reports in India are associating its government’s demands with the farmers’ protests currently taking place in the country.
Press Trust of India — the largest news agency in India — reported that government agencies demanded the removal of nearly 200 X accounts linked to the protests.
Its sources also said those accounts can be restored after the farmers’ upheaval against government policies ends.
This is not the first time a foreign government has called on X to censor certain content going against a regime. It’s also not the platform’s first time receiving orders from India to censor posts and accounts.
In 2023, Elon Musk faced criticism after calling X a place of free speech but censoring over 100 prominent accounts belonging to politicians, journalists and activists on India’s command.
X also restricted posts ahead of a presidential election in Turkey after the Turkish government threatened to shut down the platform if it didn’t comply.
Musk is challenging the Indian government’s blocking orders in a pending case. India is the third largest market for X, following the U.S. and Japan. In the past, India has issued similar censorship demands to Meta, YouTube and other big tech platforms.