X blocking 8,000 accounts in India after Centre's orders
Social media platform X on Thursday said it has started blocking more than 8,000 accounts in India after receiving orders from the Union government.
This comes amid escalating tensions with Pakistan after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir's Pahalgam on April 22.
In a statement, X's Global Government Affairs unit said that the platform had received orders from the Indian government requiring it to block the accounts, 'subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment of the company's local employees'.
The orders included demands to block access in India to accounts belonging to international news organisations and prominent X users, the statement added.
'In most cases, the Indian government has not specified which posts from an account have violated India's local laws,' it said. 'For a significant number of accounts, we did not receive any evidence or justification to block the accounts.'
The billionaire Elon Musk-led social media platform said that it would withhold the specified accounts in India alone to comply with the orders.
'However, we disagree with the Indian government's demands,' the platform said. 'Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech.'
It added: 'This is not an easy decision, however keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians' ability to access information.'
The United States-based social media platform also said that making the government orders public was essential for transparency.
'Lack of disclosure discourages accountability and can contribute to arbitrary decision making,' it said. 'However, due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders at this time.'
The platform said that it was exploring legal avenues available to the company.
'Unlike users located in India, X is restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges against these executive orders,' it said. 'However, we encourage all users who are impacted by these blocking orders to seek appropriate relief from the courts.'
X has received executive orders from the Indian government requiring X to block over 8,000 accounts in India, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment of the company's local employees. The orders include demands to block access in India to…
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) May 8, 2025
The statement came hours after India blocked the social media accounts of at least four news portals – Maktoob Media, The Kashmiriyat, Free Press Kashmir and the United States-based Muslim – amid tensions with Pakistan.
The accounts were blocked in response to legal demands by the Indian government, said X and another social media platform Instagram.
The accounts of Maktoob Media, Free Press Kashmir and The Kashmiriyat have been blocked on X, while that of Muslim has been blocked on Instagram.
The websites of all four news outlets were still accessible in India.
Maktoob Media, Free Press Kashmir and The Kashmiriyat are among Indian platforms that have in recent years sought to provide Muslim and Kashmiri perspectives on news in the context of the rising influence of Hindutva.
The news platform Muslim describes itself as 'an independent media platform delivering Muslim news, stories and coverage to our Ummah [global Muslim community]' and has around 6.7 million followers on Instagram, AFP reported.
Earlier, social media accounts of several Pakistani politicians, actors and cricketers were banned in India, including those of former Prime Minister Imran Khan, former Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto and singer Abida Parveen.
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