Got orders to block news handles, says X; govt refutes claim

A fresh controversy erupted between the government and social media platform X over the temporary blocking of prominent international news accounts, including Reuters and ReutersWorld, with both sides presenting conflicting accounts of the events.

In a statement, X claimed it received a government order on July 3, 2025, under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, directing the platform to block 2,355 accounts in India. It alleged that the order included global news organisations and was issued with a stern warning of criminal liability for non-compliance.

According to X, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) demanded action within an hour without providing any justification. However, following public backlash over the temporary restrictions on accounts like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld, the government reportedly instructed X to reverse the blocks.

“We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India,” X said in the statement, adding that it was exploring legal options but was limited by Indian law from directly challenging such executive orders. The platform advised the affected users to seek legal remedies through Indian courts.

The MeitY, however, denied X’s claims, saying no new blocking orders targeting Reuters or other international news outlets were issued on July 3. A ministry spokesperson said, “There was no intention to block any prominent international news channels, including Reuters and ReutersWorld. As soon as we noticed these handles were blocked, the government immediately wrote to X to unblock them and followed up rigorously.”

The spokesperson accused X of “unnecessarily exploiting technicalities” and delaying the restoration process. “Despite our repeated follow-ups starting late on July 5, X took over 21 hours to unblock Reuters’ accounts, which were finally restored after 9 pm on July 6,” the official added.