Elon Musk-Owned X Claims Indian Government Orders to Withhold Accounts and Posts

X (formerly known as Twitter), owned by Elon Musk, has confirmed compliance with executive orders issued by the Indian government demanding to withhold specific accounts and posts that are allegedly associated with the farmers' Delhi Chalo protest. 

The Elon Musk-owned company has expressed its disagreement with the Indian government's directives and emphasized its commitment to freedom of expression. 

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

“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 official Global Government Affairs account of X wrote on the microblogging site. 

“In compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts. 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," post said further.

This came after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) finalized its emergency order directing top social media companies like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), and Snap to block 177 accounts and links related to the farmers' protest to maintain 'public order'.