X has begun the process of restricting access to more than 8,000 accounts in India following executive orders from the Indian government, the social media platform announced Thursday.
The directive targets a wide range of users, including international news organizations and prominent individuals, according to a statement posted by X’s Global Government Affairs account. The Elon Musk-led platform said it had “no choice but to act” to prevent the entire service from potentially being banned in India.
“The orders include demands to block access in India to accounts belonging to international news organizations and prominent X users,” the platform wrote. “In most cases, the Indian government has not specified which posts from an account have violated India’s local laws.”
While complying with the orders, X expressed strong disagreement with the government’s demands, characterizing them as excessive and harmful to free expression. “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,” the company stated.
Among the affected accounts is Maktoob Media, a digital news platform focused on human rights and minority issues. When accessed from within India, the account displays a message stating it has been “withheld in India in response to a legal demand.”
Maktoob’s editor, Aslah Kayyalakkath, called the action an assault on press freedom. “We have no knowledge of the reason for the government’s arbitrary action,” he wrote on his personal X account. Other restricted accounts include those belonging to Indian Express deputy editor Muzzamil Jaleel and influential content creator Arpit Sharma.
The government orders came with significant penalties for non-compliance, including fines and potential imprisonment for X’s employees based in India. Despite this pressure, the platform has stated it is “exploring all possible legal avenues” to challenge the government’s actions.
X noted that for “a significant number of accounts,” the government provided no evidence or justification for the blocking orders. The company also stated it believes making these executive orders public is essential for transparency but is unable to publish them due to legal restrictions.
The blocking directive comes amid heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, with authorities working to combat misinformation related to recent border conflicts. The Indian government has also ordered the blocking of social media accounts belonging to Pakistani celebrities and news outlets.
Digital rights advocates have expressed concern that the broad scope of the blocking orders could have a chilling effect on free speech in India. X has encouraged affected users to seek appropriate relief from the courts and provided contact information for legal aid organizations.
As of Friday morning, the Indian government had not issued any public statement explaining the specific reasons behind the widespread account restrictions.
