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Key Points

The Indian government denied ordering X to block Reuters and other international news accounts, calling it a platform delay issue. X's Global Affairs team had claimed receiving a July 3 order under IT Act Section 69A affecting 2,355 accounts. After public backlash, Reuters, TRT World and Global Times handles were restored following 21-hour negotiations. The IT Ministry maintains it actively worked with X to resolve the "withheld accounts" technical glitch.

Key Points: India IT Ministry denies blocking Reuters X accounts amid censorship row

  • IT Ministry denies issuing Reuters X block orders
  • X took 21 hours to restore news handles
  • Platform faces legal hurdles against Indian IT Act
  • TRT World and Global Times also affected temporarily
  • Govt claims continuous coordination with X for resolution
3 min read

No order to block X accounts of international news channels, says IT Ministry

Govt clarifies no fresh orders to block Reuters, TRT World on X, blames platform delays amid global press freedom concerns.

"The Government has not issued any fresh blocking order on 3rd July 2025 - IT Ministry statement"

New Delhi, July 8

The Union Government on Tuesday denied issuing any fresh order to block the X handles of certain international news networks.

"The Government has not issued any fresh blocking order on 3rd July, 2025 and has no intention to block any prominent international news channels including Reuters and Reuters World. The moment Reuters and Reuters World were blocked on X platform in India, immediately the government wrote to 'X' to unblock them," a statement from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology said.

"The Government continuously engaged and vigorously pursued with 'X' from the late night of 5th July 2025. 'X' has unnecessarily exploited technicalities involved in the process and did not unblock the URLs. However, after lot of follow up on hourly basis, X has finally unblocked Reuters and other URLs after 9 pm on 6th July 2025. They took more than 21 hours to unblock Reuters," the statement added.

The clarification from the Government follows a post from X's Global Government Affairs team on Tuesday which claimed that it had been ordered to block accounts in India including those of news outlets like Reuters.

https://x.com/GlobalAffairs/status/1942534153297084907

"On July 3, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets like @Reuters and @ReutersWorld , under Section 69A of the IT Act. Non-compliance risked criminal liability. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology demanded immediate action- within one hour- without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked until further notice. After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld," the statement read.

"We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders. X is exploring all legal options available. Unlike users located in India, X is restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges against these executive orders. We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts," the statement further read.

The X accounts of UK-based news agency Reuters, Turkish broadcaster TRT World, and China's English language newspaper Global Times were restored in India on the evening of July 6, after users reported that they were unable to access them.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology stated that the Indian government had not sought to withhold the Reuters account on the social media platform X, and was "working with X to resolve the problem".

An official spokesperson for the Ministry had said, "There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold Reuters handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem. "

Earlier, people in India were unable to access the X handle of Reuters with a message stating that its account has been withheld in India "in response to a legal demand."

The X handles of TRT World and Global Times also encountered the same "account withheld" message.

On its help centre page, the Elon Musk-owned platform X explained that such messages "about country withheld content" mean that X was compelled to withhold the entire account specified or posts in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court order or local laws.

The Reuters X handle, as well as those of TRT and Global Times, continue to be accessible in India after the Centre intervened.

- ANI

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Reader Comments

P
Priya S
The IT Ministry's clarification seems contradictory to X's statement. Someone isn't telling the full truth here. As citizens, we deserve better accountability from both government and tech companies.
R
Rohit P
Why is X making such a big deal? Other platforms comply with Indian laws quietly. Maybe they want to create unnecessary controversy. We've seen how foreign media often misrepresents India.
S
Sarah B
As an expat in India, I find this concerning. The back-and-forth between X and government creates confusion. There should be clear guidelines about content moderation that respect both national security and free speech.
V
Vikram M
The 21-hour delay in unblocking shows how these tech giants drag their feet when it comes to following Indian laws. They should respect our sovereignty like they do in other countries.
K
Kavya N
While I support press freedom, we must also consider national security. Some international media has clear biases against India. The government has every right to protect our interests.
M
Michael C
The technical explanation from X about "country withheld content" seems more credible than the government's vague statements. India needs stronger safeguards against arbitrary content blocking.

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