Did the Indian Government Really Order X to Block Accounts? Here's the Truth!

Government Denies Blocking Orders for Social Media Accounts

New Delhi: On Tuesday, the Indian government dismissed claims made by X, the social media platform owned by Elon Musk, which stated that it had been instructed to block 2,355 accounts in India, including those of Reuters, as reported on July 3.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) clarified that no new blocking orders had been issued to X.

Following the earlier withholding of the Reuters account, the government actively communicated with X to restore access. After persistent follow-ups, X unblocked Reuters and other URLs on July 6.

A spokesperson from MeitY stated, "The Government has not issued any new blocking order on July 3, 2025, and has no plans to restrict any major international news channels, including Reuters and Reuters World. As soon as these accounts were blocked on X in India, the government contacted X to have them unblocked."

An order was initially issued on May 7 during Operation Sindoor, but it was not put into action. Following Operation Sindoor, India had issued several directives to remove posts and block accounts due to national security issues.

It seems that X has mistakenly enforced this order now. The government had reached out to the platform to address the situation.

This clarification follows X's assertion that it was directed by the Indian government to block over 2,300 accounts, including those of the global news agency Reuters.

According to X’s Global Government Affairs account, on July 3, 2025, the Indian government mandated X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like Reuters and ReutersWorld, citing Section 69A of the IT Act.

"Failure to comply could lead to criminal liability. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology demanded immediate action—within one hour—without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked until further notice," the platform claimed.

The government later asked X to unblock Reuters and ReutersWorld, as stated by X.

Previously, the government had denied any involvement in the suspension of Reuters' X account. A government official remarked, "There is no directive from the Government of India to withhold the Reuters handle. We are actively collaborating with X to resolve the issue." It appears that X may have inadvertently enforced an outdated directive.