Elon Musk-owned social media platform X (formerly Twitter) announced that it has received executive orders from the Indian government to block over 8,000 accounts, including those of “international news organizations” and “prominent X users,” for alleged violations of local laws. In a post shared by X’s Global Government Affairs team, the platform confirmed it is complying with the orders and has begun the process of restricting access to the specified accounts within India.
X’s Global Government Affairs team mentioned, “To comply with the orders, we will withhold the specified accounts in India alone. We have begun that process. However, we disagree with the Indian government’s demands. 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.”
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
They also mentioned, “This is not an easy decision, however keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians’ ability to access information. We believe that making these executive orders public is essential for transparency – lack of disclosure discourages accountability and can contribute to arbitrary decision making. However, due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders at this time. X is exploring all possible 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. However, we encourage all users who are impacted by these blocking orders to seek appropriate relief from the courts.”
