Key Points
- X claims the Indian government ordered it to block over 2,300 accounts, including Reuters.
- The company stated that the demand came with a one-hour deadline and provided no justification.
- An Indian government agency denied ordering the block and said it was working to resolve the issue.
- The blocked Reuters accounts were restored within a day. This incident is part of an ongoing legal battle between X and India over online censorship.
Elon Musk’s social media company, X, is in a public standoff with the Indian government. The company stated on Tuesday that it had been ordered to block over 2,300 accounts in India, including those of the major news organization Reuters.
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
According to a post from X’s global government affairs account, India’s IT Ministry demanded that the company take action within just one hour. X said the government gave no reason for the demand and insisted the accounts stay blocked until further notice. The main Reuters account was indeed blocked for users in India on Saturday, displaying a message that it was withheld in response to a “legal demand.”
The situation became more confusing when another part of the Indian government, the Press Information Bureau, denied that any agency had ordered the block. The bureau told Reuters that it was working with X to resolve the issue. The blocked Reuters accounts were back online by Sunday.
This incident marks the latest chapter in a growing battle over censorship between X and the government of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In March, X sued the Indian government, accusing it of attempting to expand its power to remove online content without due process.
The battle aligns with Musk’s public image as a “free speech absolutist.” He has often said he bought the site, formerly known as Twitter, to stop what he saw as unfair content moderation. Since taking over, he has implemented significant changes to the platform’s rules, which have often led to clashes with governments worldwide.
