On 8 May, X (formerly Twitter) disclosed that the Indian government had ordered the platform to block over 8,000 accounts within India. The directive, issued via executive orders, carries penalties including fines and possible imprisonment for non-compliance by X employees based in the country.
X stated that many of the blocked accounts belong to international news organisations and public figures, and that it had not received evidence or legal justification for a significant number of the requests. The company confirmed it is withholding the specified accounts in India but expressed disagreement with the orders.
Due to legal restrictions, X is unable to publish the executive orders and has urged affected users to seek legal remedy independently. Indian law limits X’s ability to challenge such directives in court.
The orders follow recent restrictions on several Pakistani YouTube channels. The full list of blocked accounts and the reasoning behind the actions remain undisclosed.
Script: Aranya
Voice Over: Divya Tiwari
Editor: Madiha Shakeel
#India #SocialMedia #XPlatform #AccountBlocking #GovernmentOrders #DigitalCensorship #ExecutiveOrders #OnlineRegulation #PressFreedom
X stated that many of the blocked accounts belong to international news organisations and public figures, and that it had not received evidence or legal justification for a significant number of the requests. The company confirmed it is withholding the specified accounts in India but expressed disagreement with the orders.
Due to legal restrictions, X is unable to publish the executive orders and has urged affected users to seek legal remedy independently. Indian law limits X’s ability to challenge such directives in court.
The orders follow recent restrictions on several Pakistani YouTube channels. The full list of blocked accounts and the reasoning behind the actions remain undisclosed.
Script: Aranya
Voice Over: Divya Tiwari
Editor: Madiha Shakeel
#India #SocialMedia #XPlatform #AccountBlocking #GovernmentOrders #DigitalCensorship #ExecutiveOrders #OnlineRegulation #PressFreedom
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NewsTranscript
00:00On 8th of May, social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, revealed that the Indian
00:06government had issued executive orders demanding the blocking of over 8,000 accounts within the
00:12country. The instructions, posted by X's global government affairs handle, come with a warning.
00:18Non-compliance could result in significant fines or even imprisonment of X's employees in India.
00:24The accounts belong to international news organizations and well-known public figures
00:29on the platform. But what is conspicuously absent is clarity. In most cases, the government has not
00:36specified which posts violated the local laws. And for many of the blocked accounts, X claims it
00:42was not provided with any evidence or justification at all. The companies said in a statement,
00:48blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it also amounts to censorship, adding that
00:54while it has begun withholding access to the named accounts within India, it strongly disagrees with
01:00the directive. Keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indian's ability to access
01:05information, said X. The company also stated that it is exploring all possible legal avenues,
01:11but noted a limitation. Indian law restricts X's ability as a foreign entity to challenge executive
01:18orders in the local courts. Instead, the platform has urged the affected users to pursue
01:24legal relief themselves, effectively leaving thousands to navigate a notoriously opaque judicial system.
01:30At the time of reporting, the executive orders themselves remain unpublished.
01:35Due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders at this time,
01:40X said in a statement. The lack of public discourse raises serious questions
01:45about transparency and due process. These restrictions have had an immediate impact on
01:50several independent reporters and large-scale publications. Digital news media company The
01:55Wire posted a statement on X condemning the recent government order and shared that the access to
02:01their website and application has been blocked in a clear violation of the constitutional guarantee of
02:07freedom of press. These restrictions come on the heels of a broader digital blackout. In the past week alone,
02:14over a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels, including several mainstream news outlets, were banned for
02:20allegedly spreading provocative content as hostilities between India and Pakistan flare following the
02:26deadly terrorist attack in Pehalgaam. This is not the first time social media platforms have clashed with
02:31the Indian state, but with over 8,000 accounts now on the chopping block, it may be the most sweeping crackdown yet.