Platform X withholds some posts in India after ECI's takedown order

India, with nearly a billion eligible voters, will commence the world's largest electoral exercise on April 19

The social media platform X (formerly Twitter) announced on Tuesday that it had restricted access to certain posts in India that included political statements from elected politicians, political parties, and candidates for upcoming polls following a takedown order from the country's election commission.

The poll panel found that the objectionable posts were in violation of the model code of conduct.

According to a statement from X, in compliance with the orders of the Election Commission of India (ECI), the platform has withheld some posts for the remainder of the election period. 

Owned by Elon Musk, X expressed disagreement with the orders.

"We disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts and political speech in general," said X.

 

It further said, "We have notified the affected users and in the interest of transparency, we are publishing the takedown orders here. We call on the Election Commission to publish all of its takedown orders going forward."

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— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) April 16, 2024

India, with nearly a billion eligible voters, will commence the world's largest electoral exercise on Friday. The Lok Sabha elections will take place in seven phases between April 19 and June 1, with results to be announced on June 4.