Elon Musk's X says Indian government asked it to withhold some accounts

X said that the accounts have been withheld but it disagrees with it and maintains that 'freedom of expression should extend to these posts'

Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, on Thursday said that the Centre has asked it to withhold some accounts and the posts made by them. The platform, however, added that it disagrees with the orders.

In a post, X's Global Government Affairs said, "The Indian government has issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment."

It added that the accounts and posts have been withheld, but "we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts".

It also said that a writ petition challenging the Centre's blocking orders remains pending. "We have also provided the impacted users with notice of these actions in accordance with our policies," it added.

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X said that due to legal restrictions, it was unable to publish the executive orders. However, it said it believed that "making them public is essential for transparency".

"This lack of disclosure can lead to a lack of accountability and arbitrary decision-making," the post further read.

In 2022, Twitter moved against the Centre's order to take down some content from its platform on the grounds that the content blocking orders from the IT Ministry do not pass "the test of the grounds provided under Section 69A of the IT Act".

In 2023, however, the Karnataka High Court dismissed the company's petition and imposed a fine of Rs 50 lakh, citing its conduct.

However, challenging the order, X has sought access to orders passed by the Centre's Review Committee, claiming that earlier it asked the platform to block some accounts and later reversed the orders in "at least 10 cases". The case is currently sub judice.

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X's claims come just days after the Centre ordered the temporary blocking of around 177 social media accounts and web links that are linked to the ongoing farmers' protest. This included links and accounts on Facebook, Instagram, X, Snapchat and some other social media platforms.