Elon Musk’s Twitter: Indian government has asked us to block 8,000 accounts, however, we disagree as …

Elon Musk-owned social media platform X (formerly Twitter) said it has received orders from the Indian government to block more than 8,000 accounts that include those of some “international news organizations” and “prominent X users” for violating local laws. Sharing the post, the official handle of X's Global Government Affairs said that it has complied with orders and has started the process of withholding the specified accounts in the country.“However, we disagree with the Indian government’s demands. Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech,” it added.The post added that the company has provided the affected users with notice of the actions in accordance with its policies.

In most cases, the Indian government has not specified which posts from an account have violated India's local laws. For a significant number of accounts, we did not receive any evidence or justification to block the accounts.

To comply with the orders, we will withhold the specified accounts in India alone. We have begun that process. However, we disagree with the Indian government’s demands. Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech.

This is not an easy decision, however keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians’ ability to access information.

We believe that making these executive orders public is essential for transparency – lack of disclosure discourages accountability and can contribute to arbitrary decision making. However, due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders at this time.

X is exploring all possible legal avenues available to the company. Unlike users located in India, X is restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges against these executive orders. However, we encourage all users who are impacted by these blocking orders to seek appropriate relief from the courts.

Users may contact any of the below legal aid organizations:

iProbono India (http://i-probono.in)

National Legal Services Authority (http://nalsa.gov.in)

Karnataka Legal Services Authority (http://kslsa.kar.nic.in)

Supreme Court Legal Services (http://sci.gov.in/legal-aid)

We have provided the affected users with notice of the actions in accordance with our policies. Affected users may also contact the Indian government at [email protected].