New Delhi (TDI): In a sweeping act of online censorship, the Government of India has ordered social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to block access to more than 8,000 accounts within the country.
The executive orders, issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), demand the blanket restriction of accounts belonging to activists, journalists, international media, and prominent voices on the platform—many of whom have been critical of the state.
The move comes without transparency, evidence, or due legal explanation in most cases, raising serious concerns about the erosion of free speech and democratic rights in India.
X, while complying with the order under legal threat—including potential imprisonment of its local employees—issued a firm statement opposing the government’s sweeping demands.
🚨BREAKING: India has ordered @X to block over 8,000 accounts, including those of journalists and international media.
X is complying under threat of fines and jail time for staff, but calls the move censorship and urges affected users to seek legal help.— Global Affairs (@GlobalAffairs)
May 9, 2025
“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,” the platform revealed.
Despite initiating the account blocks in India to avoid complete shutdown or legal reprisals, X has criticized the move as unnecessary and unconstitutional.
“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.”
X further disclosed that it is barred from publishing the executive orders due to Indian legal restrictions—an alarming indicator of the opacity surrounding the government’s digital clampdown.
Read More: Pakistan Partially Lifts Ban on Social Media Platform X
The company has urged affected users to seek legal redress and provided resources for pro bono legal assistance. However, as X noted, the legal environment makes it difficult even for the platform itself to challenge these orders in court.
This is not the first time India has used executive power to silence dissent online, but the scale and lack of transparency in this case have amplified global concern. Digital rights organizations are calling this a dangerous precedent that undermines democratic discourse in the world’s largest democracy.
As the international community watches closely, this latest episode underscores a growing pattern of authoritarian digital governance in India—where criticism is increasingly met with silence, not dialogue.
Areeba Kanwal is a contributor at The Diplomatic Insight and has passion for International Relations and diplomacy.
