X, Formerly Twitter, Claims Indian Govt Issued 'Executive Orders' To Act On Some Posts

'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,' the microblogging platform, owned by Elon Musk, said in a post.

Outlook Web Desk

Updated on: 22 February 2024 9:52 am

A post on X's Global Government Affairs' account early on Thursday said the company would comply with the government's order. Photo: X/@GlobalAffairs

Elon Musk's X, formerly Twitter, has claimed that the Indian government issued "executive orders", requiring the microblogging platform "to act on specific accounts and posts". The government is yet to respond to the company's claims.

A post on X's Global Government Affairs' account early on Thursday said the company would comply with the government's order.

The post, however, further read that the company disagreed "with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts."

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.?

In?compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however,…
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) February 21, 2024

"Consistent with our position, a writ appeal challenging the Indian government's blocking orders remains pending. We have also provided the impacted users with notice of these actions in accordance with our policies," the post read.

"Due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders, but we believe that making them public is essential for transparency. This lack of disclosure can lead to a lack of accountability and arbitrary decision-making," it further said.

This comes in the backdrop of the government ordering temporary blocking of around 177 social media accounts and web links that are linked to the farmers’ protest, according to sources.

It, however, is not clear whether the claim made by X is related to this crackdown by the government.

The orders were issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology on February 14 and 19 at the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs under section 69A of the IT Act, news agency PTI cited sources.

“The orders have been issued to temporarily block 177 social media accounts and web links to maintain law and order on request of the Ministry of Home Affairs,” the source said.

Links and accounts on Facebook, Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat and some other social media platforms have been ordered to be blocked. These accounts can be restored after the farmers’ agitation is over, the source added.