Elon Musk's X says Indian government ordered over 2,000 accounts blocked, including Reuters

In a significant development, Elon Musk's social media platform, X, revealed that the Indian government has mandated the blocking of 2,355 accounts, including high-profile ones like Reuters. This directive, issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, required immediate compliance within just one hour and lacked any accompanying justification. Furthermore, the blocking was stipulated to continue until further notice. The blocking of accounts, including the main Reuters handle and ReutersWorld, took effect on Saturday, with affected users in India encountering a message stating, "Account withheld @Reuters has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand." However, the Indian government's Press Information Bureau later clarified that no official directive had been issued to block the accounts and that discussions were underway with X to address the matter. Fortunately for users, the accounts were restored the following day. This incident adds another layer to the ongoing legal tussle between X and the Indian government, led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Earlier this year, X initiated legal action against Modi’s administration, alleging that the IT ministry was unlawfully enhancing censorship measures, thus facilitating the removal of content more easily. Musk, who frequently champions the concept of free speech, has indicated that his acquisition of Twitter—now rebranded as X—was partly motivated by his concerns over the perceived censorship of conservative perspectives. Following his takeover, he implemented several changes to the platform's moderation policies, aiming to promote an environment of open dialogue.