India blocks over 8,000 X accounts after anti-Pakistan agenda exposed

The Indian government blocked more than 8,000 accounts on the micro-blogging site X (formerly Twitter) after its anti-Pakistan agenda was exposed on social media. While criticising the action, the X administration stated its inability to prevent it.

The X administration said that no justification was given for banning accounts on a large scale by the so-called secular Indian government. However, multiple accounts in this don't relate to any particular reason.

"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 statement.

"We believe that making these executive orders public is essential for transparency – lack of disclosure discourages accountability and can contribute to arbitrary decision making. However, due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders at this time."

"X 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," it added.

Read: PTA blocks 16 Indian YouTube channels over anti-Pakistan propaganda

The X administration declared the complete closure of the accounts an “contrary to the fundamental right of free speech,” saying neither India made it clear which Indian laws were violated by these accounts, nor did they provide a clarification of the content or legal justification in accordance with Indian laws.

AFP reported that Meta banned a prominent Muslim news page on Instagram in India at the request of the Modi government. The account’s founder has condemned the move, calling it “censorship.”

Instagram users’ access to the @Muslim handle on X was also restricted. The account has 6.7 million followers, when the account's founder received a message saying the account was unavailable in India.

"I have received hundreds of messages, emails and comments from our followers in India saying they cannot access our account," Amir Al-Khattab, the news account's founder and editor-in-chief, said in a statement.

Read: India blocks ISPR, PM Sharif's YouTube, X accounts

He said that Meta blocked the @Muslim account at the legal request of the Indian government, which is censorship. 

However, Meta refused to comment, saying that it follows a policy of restricting content on a webpage when the government believes that content on its platforms is “against local law”.

Amir demanded that Meta restore the account in India, saying that we will continue to document the truth and stand strong for justice.

Notably, India had previously unjustifiably banned more than a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels.