X blocked Reuters accounts in India
New Delhi, India – Global social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, experienced a brief but significant disruption in India over the weekend when the primary Reuters news account and its Reuters World counterpart became inaccessible to users. The temporary block, which commenced on Saturday evening, was swiftly reversed, with full access restored by Sunday, sparking discussions surrounding content moderation policies and governmental legal demands in the region.
Indian users attempting to view the @Reuters account, which commands a substantial following of 25 million, were met with an explicit message stating that the account “has been withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand.” This notification immediately raised alarms among media professionals and the public.
However, the situation quickly developed with seemingly conflicting statements. An Indian government spokesperson informed TechCrunch that there was “no requirement from the Government of India to withhold Reuters handle,” further stating, “We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem.” Simultaneously, a Reuters spokesperson confirmed that the news agency was “working with X to resolve this matter.”
This incident is not an isolated event in X’s complex relationship with Indian authorities regarding content regulation. Reuters revealed that its social media team had previously received a notification from X in May, indicating content withholding at the Indian government’s behest, although specific details regarding the requesting agency or targeted content were not provided.
X has been an vocal critic of the Indian government’s demands for blocking certain accounts and posts. The platform even pursued legal action against the government in March, contending that a new website enabled “unrestrained censorship of information in India” by empowering numerous public officials to issue content takedown orders. The government, in response, clarified that the website’s sole purpose was to facilitate notifications to companies about harmful online content.
The social media giant, which recently integrated with Elon Musk’s xAI, has faced similar content moderation challenges on a global scale. Last year, X was embroiled in a prolonged dispute with Brazil’s Supreme Court, a conflict that saw the service temporarily cease operations in the country and subsequently face a ban for over a month before services were reinstated.
While the Reuters accounts have been fully restored for Indian users, the episode highlights the persistent complexities global social media platforms encounter when navigating diverse legal frameworks and censorship demands from national governments. Neither X nor Reuters has yet offered further specifics on the nature of the “legal demand” or the precise communications that led to both the temporary block and its subsequent reversal.
