The Reuters News account in the X is inaccessible to users in India since Saturday, when the social media platform has suspended it in response to what it described as a “legal requirement.”
A spokesman for the Indian government’s Press Information Bureau, however, told Reuters that there was no requirement for any India government agency to “retain the Reuters account. We are working continuously with X to solve the problem.”
Reuters was unable to immediately determine to which specific content the demand referred to, why its removal was requested or the entity that filed the complaint.
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X representatives did not immediately respond to comments requests. A Reuters spokesman said in a statement: “We are working with X to resolve this and restore Reuters account in India as soon as possible.”
Reuters World, another X -account account for the news agency, was also blocked in India.
Reuters’ main account, followed by over 25 million users worldwide, has been blocked in India since Saturday night. A note informs X users that “@reuters was retained in the in (India) in response to a legal demand.”
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In an email to Reuters’ social media team on May 16, the X said: “It is our policy to notify account holders if we receive a legal request from an authorized entity (such as a government agency or law enforcement) to remove the content from their accounts.”
“To fulfill the X’s obligations according to local India laws, we block its X account in India according to the country’s 2000 Information Technology Act; content continues to be available elsewhere.”
Reuters could not verify that the email of May 16 was linked to the suspension of the account on Saturday.
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Although the email did not specify which entity had made the request or which content intended to remove, he said that the X had been informed that, in such a case, the user could contact the Secretary of the Ministry of Information and broadcasting India.
The secretary, Sanjay Jaju, did not immediately respond to requests for comments.
The 2000 law allows designated government authorities to require the removal of content from social media platforms that they consider violating local laws, including national security or if a publication threatens public order.
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For a long time, the X has been disagreed with the Government of India regarding content removal requests. The company sued the federal government in March because of a new government website that, according to the company, expands the removal powers to “countless” government officials.
The case remains in progress. India said X labeling an official website as a “censorship portal” as the site only allows technology companies to be notified about harmful online content.
