The microblogging website X (formerly Twitter) will block over 8,000 accounts in India following the government's order to do so, the Elon Musk-run company said today.
While X agreed to block the accounts, it protested against the order citing fundamental right of free speech.
"X has received executive orders from the Indian government requiring X to block over 8,000 accounts in India, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment of the company's local employees. The orders include demands to block access in India to accounts belonging to international news organizations and prominent X users," the social networking website said.
"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.
"To comply with the orders, we will withhold the specified accounts in India alone. We have begun that process. However, we disagree with the Indian government's demands. 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.
"This is not an easy decision, however keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians' ability to access information," X said in a post on the platform.
X said it is exploring all possible legal avenues available to the company.
Unlike users located in India, X is restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges against these executive orders.
"However, we encourage all users who are impacted by these blocking orders to seek appropriate relief from the courts," the company said.
