X, a social networking site, has on Thursday reported that it started limiting access to 8,000 Indian users' accounts due to binding directives received from the Indian government.
In a statement posted via its Global Government Affairs account, X said it had been given formal government instructions to block thousands of accounts. The orders have allegedly been made with the warning of serious consequences, including significant financial penalties and potential jail time for X's employees in India.
The orders contain requests to block access in India to accounts of international news organizations and high-profile X users. In the majority of instances, the Indian government has not indicated which posts from an account have broken India's local laws. For a large number of accounts, we did not have any evidence or rationale to block the accounts," the platform said.
Whilst reinforcing its opposition to the government directives, X specified that it would continue to honor the mandate but only by suspending the suspended accounts within India.
"We have started that process. We don't agree with the Indian government's requests. Blocking a whole account is not only unnecessary, it is also censorship of current and future content…" X argued. The company went on to say that while this was a tough choice, it feels that continuing to operate in India is important for ensuring the free flow of information within the country.
The company underscored transparency as the imperative, saying, "We think that publishing these executive orders is critical to transparency — nondisclosure discourages accountability and may lead to arbitrary decision-making. But based on legal limitations, we cannot publish the executive orders for now."
X further said it is now entertaining all available legal options under the situation.
"Unlike users based in India, X is limited by Indian law in its capacity to mount legal challenges against these executive orders. But we urge all users who are affected by these blocking orders to pursue proper relief in the courts," the platform said in its post.
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