X Acknowledges Indian Government’s Order To Suspend Accounts, Says “We Disagree… Writ Appeal Pending”
X, the social media platform led by Elon Musk, has confirmed compliance with executive orders issued by the Indian government demanding the suspension of specific accounts and posts, which are allegedly associated with the ongoing farmers” protest. Despite taking action to withhold the identified accounts and posts within India, X has expressed its disagreement with the government”s directives, emphasizing its commitment to freedom of expression.
The official Global Government Affairs account of X disclosed that the platform is acting under potential threat of significant fines and imprisonment if it fails to adhere to these orders. However, in a move to challenge the government”s demands, X has filed a writ appeal, which is currently pending.
”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, 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,” Global Government Affairs tweeted.
The platform has also taken steps to notify affected users about the withholding of their accounts in line with its policies, while expressing a strong belief in the importance of transparency regarding such government orders. Due to legal constraints, X said, it is unable to publicly disclose the contents of the executive orders but criticized the lack of transparency as potentially leading to arbitrary decision-making and a lack of accountability.
The suspension has impacted several prominent figures associated with the farmer”s movement, including leaders and spokespeople from various farmer unions. The move has sparked criticism from users and opposition parties, who argue that it suppresses freedom of speech and the right to peaceful protest.
Opposition party Congress has on Tuesday criticized the government directive for suspending various social media handles of the farmers and also suspending the internet services to prevent the spread of messages.
”On the one hand the government was talking to the farmers, on the other hand it was shutting up the internet and forcing the media not to report about the farmers’ agitation,” Congress leader Pawan Khera said in a press conference.
