Farmers Protest: In response to emergency blocking orders finalized by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology against social media accounts related to the farmers’ protests, social media company X (formerly Twitter), owned by Elon Musk, announced on Thursday that it will withhold specific accounts and posts in compliance with the Indian government’s executive orders. While expressing disagreement with the directives, the company emphasized its commitment to freedom of speech.
X Affirms Compliance Amid Disagreement
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
Through its Global Government Affairs account, X stated, “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 company expressed its intention to comply with the orders by withholding these accounts and posts in India alone. However, it asserted its disagreement with these actions, maintaining that freedom of expression should be upheld for these posts.
Legal Challenge and Notice to Impacted Users
The Global Government Affairs account highlighted that a writ appeal challenging the Indian government’s blocking orders is currently pending. In line with its position, X has provided notice of these actions to the impacted users in accordance with its policies. The company reiterated its commitment to freedom of speech, emphasizing the importance of making the executive orders public for transparency and accountability.
Centre’s Orders Against X Accounts on Farmers’ Protest
MeitY recently finalized orders for the suspension of 177 accounts linked to the ‘Delhi Chalo’ march during the farmers’ protest. The Ministry of Home Affairs had prompted MeitY to issue emergency orders on February 14, urging platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, X, and Snap to block these accounts to maintain public order. The accounts are to remain suspended until February 19, as specified by the government, after which they can be restored.
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