GUWAHATI: On February 22, the social media platform X expressed its disagreement with the Indian government's directive. The platform urged for an extension of freedom of expression to the affected posts. The directive is to block accounts and posts allegedly related to the ongoing farmers' protests.
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X’s Global Government Affairs account posted saying, “The Indian government has issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment. In compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts.”
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“Consistent with our position, a writ appeal challenging the Indian government's blocking orders remains pending. We have also provided the impacted users with notice of these actions in accordance with our policies. Due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders, but we believe that making them public is essential for transparency. This lack of disclosure can lead to a lack of accountability and arbitrary decision-making,” the post further stated.
The Indian government has issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment.
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) February 21, 2024
In compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however,…
This is the first time X has spoken in some detail about blocking orders from India.
The banned social media accounts on X and Facebook of farmer leaders and organisations include: Sarvan Singh Pandher, the coordinator of Kisan Mazdoor Morcha (KMM), Tejveer Singh Ambala, the spokesperson of BKU (Shaheed Bhagat Singh), farmer leader Ramandeep Singh Mann, Surjit Singh Phull from BKU Krantikari, farmer leader Harpal Sangha, Ashok Danoda from Haryana, as well as official farmer groups like @Tractor2twitr_P, Bhartiya Kisan Union spokesman, Progressive Farmers Front and Kisan Majdoor Morcha, as per reports by The Hindu.
