Photo:
X is challenging the mandate.
X, formerly known as Twitter, has once again faced content restrictions in India. The Indian government issued an executive order, as announced by X’s Global Government Affairs account, mandating that X withhold specific accounts and posts or face penalties such as fines and imprisonment. X has challenged the order, stating its disagreement.
While the designated posts and accounts will only be blocked within India, there is no clear list of those affected. The Global Government Affairs post acknowledged the legal restrictions preventing the publication of the executive orders but emphasized the importance of transparency, stating that the lack of disclosure can lead to a lack of accountability and arbitrary decision-making. X claims to have notified all affected parties.
The blocked content is likely related to the ongoing farmers’ protest in India, which has seen multiple farmers’ unions on strike since February 13, demanding floor pricing or a minimum support price for crops sold. Violent clashes between protesters and police have already resulted in at least one death, according to AP News.
Mohammed Zubair, an Indian journalist and co-founder of Alt News, shared purported screenshots of suspended accounts belonging to individuals critical of the current government, on-the-ground reporters, and prominent farm unionists.
This is not the first conflict between X and India. In 2022, X sued the Indian government for “arbitrarily and disproportionately” applying its IT laws, which required the company to hire a point of contact for local authorities and a domestic compliance officer. Prior to this, in early 2021, the Indian government threatened to jail X’s employees if posts about the farmers’ protest remained on the site. The government also mandated the removal of content criticizing its COVID-19 response.
In June 2023, India dismissed X’s lawsuit, stating that the company failed to adequately explain why it had delayed complying with the country’s IT laws. X was fined 5 million rupees ($60,300) by the court, which remarked, “You are not a farmer but a billion-dollar company.” This followed Twitter co-founder Jack Dorsey’s claim that India had threatened to raid employees’ homes and shut down the site if certain posts were not taken down during the farmers’ protest.
Overall, X’s ongoing conflict with the Indian government highlights the challenges faced by social media platforms in navigating content restrictions and regulatory requirements in different countries.