X suspends Reuters account in India after 'legal demand', government denies making request
FILE PHOTO: A 3D-printed miniature model of Elon Musk and the X logo are seen in this illustration taken January 23, 2025. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
NEW DELHI - The Reuters News account on X has been inaccessible to users in India since Saturday, when the social media platform suspended it in response to what it described as a "legal demand".
A spokesperson for the Indian government's Press Information Bureau, however, told Reuters there was no requirement from any agency in the government of India to "withhold the Reuters handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem".
Reuters could not immediately determine what specific content the demand referred to, why its removal was sought or the entity that had lodged the complaint.
Representatives for X did not immediately respond to requests for comment. A Reuters spokesperson said in a statement, "We are working with X to resolve this matter and get Reuters account reinstated in India as soon as possible."
Reuters World, another X account operated by the news agency, has also been blocked in India.
The main Reuters account, followed by more than 25 million users globally, has been blocked in India since Saturday night. A note tells X users that "@Reuters has been withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand".
In an email to the Reuters social media team on May 16, X said: "It is our policy to notify account holders if we receive a legal request from an authorized entity (such as law enforcement or a government agency) to remove content from their account."
Top stories
Swipe. Select. Stay informed.
Singapore First BTO project in Sembawang North to be offered in July HDB launch
World Tariffs will kick in on Aug 1 barring trade deals: US Treasury Secretary
Singapore Woman on SMRT's 190 bus injured after bottle thrown at vehicle leaves hole in window
Business Great Eastern says Takeover Code not breached when it shared IFA valuation with OCBC
Asia 'Don't be seen in India again': Indian nationals pushed into Bangladesh at gunpoint
Asia Thousands evacuated as Typhoon Danas lashes Taiwan
Asia Two women fatally stabbed at bar in Japan by man
Life Star Awards 2025: Christopher Lee wins big, including Special Achievement Award and Best Actor
"In order to comply with X obligations under India's local laws, we have withheld your X account in India under the country's Information Technology Act, 2000; the content remains available elsewhere".
Reuters could not ascertain if the May 16 email was linked to Saturday's account suspension.
While the email did not specify which entity had made the request or what content they sought to remove, it said X had been advised that in a case of this sort, a user could contact the secretary of India's Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
The secretary, Sanjay Jaju, did not immediately respond to requests seeking comment.
The 2000 law allows designated government officials to demand takedown of content from social media platforms they deem to violate local laws, including on the grounds of national security or if a post threatens public order.
X has long been at odds with India's government over content-removal requests. The company sued the federal government in March over a new government website the company says expands takedown powers to "countless" government officials.
The case is continuing. India has said X wrongly labelled an official website a "censorship portal", as the website only allows tech companies to be notified about harmful online content. REUTERS
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
35 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Sweet-smelling fungi with sinister name at centre of Australia's mushroom murders
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox A death cap mushroom is easily mistaken for other edible varieties, and has a pleasant taste when used in cooking. SYDNEY – An innocuous-looking mushroom with a sweet smell and a sinister name lay at the centre of Australian Erin Patterson's triple-murder conviction on July 7. Patterson was found guilty of killing her husband's parents and aunt in 2023, and attempting to kill a fourth guest, by lacing their beef Wellington lunch with highly toxic death cap mushrooms. The 50-year-old denied the accusations, saying the hearty meal was contaminated by accident . Throughout a headline-grabbing trial spanning more than two months, experts have dissected the brown-and-white fungi in forensic detail. Death caps – or Amanita phalloides – are responsible for around 90 per cent of all fungus-related fatalities, making them the deadliest mushrooms in the world. The brown-and-white sporing bodies are easily mistaken for other edible varieties, and reportedly possess a pleasant taste when used in cooking. But they are saturated with deadly chemicals known as amatoxins, toxicologist Dimitri Gerostamoulos told Patterson's trial. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements from April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian woman found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore askST Jobs: Facing intrusive demands from your employer? Here's what you can do Singapore NUS College draws 10,000 applications for 400 places, showing strong liberal arts interest Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 'They can lead to someone experiencing symptoms of diarrhoea, vomiting, feeling really unwell,' Dr Gerostamoulos told the jury. 'And they progressively get worse if the toxins are not removed.' 'They progress to tissue necrosis, organ failure and can obviously lead to death if not treated appropriately,' he added. Three of Patterson's guests died of organ failure a week after unknowingly eating death cap mushrooms baked into individual portions of beef Wellington. 'It was very apparent that this was not survivable,' intensive care specialist Stephen Warrillow told the jury. A fourth guest fell gravely ill but survived after weeks in hospital. Death cap mushrooms are native to Europe but have spread to the United States, Australia and New Zealand, fungi expert Tom May said during Patterson's trial. He said the mushrooms had a 'slightly sweet' odour when fresh. 'In Australia, it is an exotic species and it was accidentally introduced,' Dr May said in his testimony. They sprout during warm and wet autumn weather and are typically found growing in the shade of oak trees. 'From time to time, every year, usually under suitable conditions, it produces a sporing body, which is the mushroom that we see,' Dr May said. 'They're quite fleshy and they decay quite readily, so they would not last longer than a couple of weeks when they're sitting in the field.' Patterson will be sentenced at a later date. AFP
Straits Times
35 minutes ago
- Straits Times
Three children among 27 wounded in Russia's drone attack on Kharkiv, Ukraine says
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox At least three children were among 27 people wounded as a result of a Russian drone attack on Ukraine's second-largest city of Kharkiv overnight that damaged apartments and a kindergarten, Ukrainian authorities said on Monday. Kharkiv, which lies in northeastern Ukraine near the border with Russia, has been the target of regular Russian drone and missile attacks since the start of the war that Moscow launched with a full-scale invasion more than three years ago. A fire broke out in a multi-storey residential building in Kharkiv as a result of the attack, Mayor Ihor Terekhov said. Oleh Sinehubov, governor of the broader Kharkiv region of which the city of Kharkiv is the administrative centre, said that most of the injuries occurred in the city's Shevchenkivskyi district. Emergency services were working at the site, Sinehubov said on the Telegram messaging app. The full scale of the attack was not immediately clear. There was no comment on the attacks from Moscow. Both sides deny targeting civilians in the war, but thousands of civilians have died in the conflict, the vast majority of them Ukrainian. A Russian attack on the region of Sumy, also in Ukraine's northeast, on Sunday afternoon killed two people and injured another two, while damaging about 20 buildings, State Emergency Service of Ukraine said on Telegram. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore Construction starts on Cross Island Line Phase 2; 6 MRT stations in S'pore's west ready by 2032 Singapore New SkillsFuture requirements from April 2026 to mandate regular training for adult educators Singapore MPs should not ask questions to 'clock numbers'; focus should be improving S'poreans' lives: Seah Kian Peng Singapore Sequencing and standards: Indranee on role of Leader of the House Asia Australian woman found guilty of all counts in mushroom murders case Singapore askST Jobs: Facing intrusive demands from your employer? Here's what you can do Singapore NUS College draws 10,000 applications for 400 places, showing strong liberal arts interest Singapore Life After... blazing biomedical research trail in S'pore: Renowned scientist breaks new ground at 59 An overnight attack damaged several buildings and cars in three of the 10 districts of the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv, Mayor Vitali Klitschko said on Telegram. There were no reports of injuries, he added. REUTERS
Business Times
38 minutes ago
- Business Times
Thai headline inflation negative for third straight month in June
[BANGKOK] Thailand's annual inflation rate was negative for a third straight month in June, driven by lower energy and food prices, but the commerce ministry said on Monday (Jul 7) there was no sign of deflation yet. The consumer price index (CPI) dropped 0.25 per cent in June from a year earlier, bigger than the 0.1 per cent decline forecast in a Reuters poll, and following a 0.57 per cent drop in the previous month. It was the fourth month in a row that the inflation rate has been below the central bank's target range of 1 to 3 per cent. Headline inflation in the third quarter is expected to remain negative before turning positive in the final quarter of the year, Poonpong Naiyanapakorn, head of the commerce ministry's Trade Policy and Strategy Office, told a press conference. There were no signs of deflation because the price drop was driven by lower energy prices, he said. The core CPI, which excludes volatile fresh food and energy prices, rose 1.06 per cent in June from a year earlier, compared with a forecast increase of 1.1 per cent. In the first six months, annual headline inflation averaged 0.37 per cent, with core inflation at 0.97 per cent, the ministry said. The ministry maintained its headline inflation forecast for 2025 at 0 to 1 per cent. Last month, the central bank left its key interest rate unchanged at 1.75 per cent, seeking to save some policy ammunition if needed to support the economy amid trade uncertainty and renewed domestic political turbulence. The next rate meeting is on Aug 13. REUTERS
