- India has ordered X to block more than 8,000 accounts, said the social media company on May 8, 2025
- X considered the orders of India as censorship and urged the holders of accounts to legally challenge the blocks
- Both India and Pakistan have intensified internet censorship as the conflict between the two countries continues to increase
India has issued executive orders to X, asking the social media company to block more than 8,000 accounts throughout the country. The objectives, explains X, include accounts that belong to international news and prominent users of X.
The Global Government Affairs team of X revealed the details on a long tweet on Thursday, May 8, 2025, considering these requests as “censorship” and urging the holders of accounts based in India to legally challenge the blocks.
“Blocking complete accounts is not only unnecessary, it is equivalent to the censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of freedom of expression,” X wrote.
X does not agree, but it is “restricted by Indian law”
“To fulfill the orders, we will retain the accounts specified only in India. We have begun that process,” X wrote, adding that the company does not agree with the demands of the Indian government.
However, this means that blocked account holders can continue accessing the platform using one of the best VPN services to falsify its IP address location.
“X is exploring all possible legal routes available for the company. Unlike users located in India, X is restricted by Indian law in its ability to present legal challenges against these executive orders,” added the company, while encouraging all users affected to seek the appropriate relief of the courts.
The Social Network Company even shared a list of legal assistance organizations that could help people challenge these blocking orders, and said he had notified those affected by these actions.
The Affairs of the Global Government of X was temporarily held in India, as reported by the Indian technology journalist Adit Agrawal in his LinkedIn account.
The account was restored on Friday morning. According to a person aware of the matter, Agrawal reported, X blocked the account without an official order after the authorities asked the company about the tweet.
“Now Meity has issued an order to X so as not to block it, according to this person,” Agrawal wrote.
Information from India/Pakistan offdown
X blocking orders coincide with an increase in internet censorship throughout the country as the conflict with neighbor Pakistan intensifies.
On Wednesday, May 7, Meta also blocked an important Muslim news page on Instagram at the request of the authorities, as reported by The Guardian.
On Thursday, the Ministry of Information and broadcasting of India also issued an advice that urges all media companies, transmission services and online platforms to block all the original content of Pakistan.
On his side, Pakistan has resumed access to X on Wednesday after a 15 -month prohibition.
The Telecommunications Authority of Pakistan (PTA) also blocked access to at least 16 YouTube news channels and 32 Indian websites on the same day, to allegedly disseminate erroneous information and anti-pakistan propaganda.
As reported by the BBC, India and Pakistan they blame each other for increasing military tensions and have been launching a series of missiles and drone strikes since Wednesday. This represents an important escalation of existing tensions on the disputed cashmere area between the two nuclear weapons countries.
