'No Requirement’: Centre Responds to Reuters X Account Withholding in India

No Requirement’: The Indian government on Sunday, July 6, said it had no role in blocking the official X account of international news agency Reuters, which was inaccessible to users in India since Saturday.

“There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold Reuters handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem,” an official spokesperson said in a statement on Saturday.

This comes after Reuters’ X account was found to be blocked in India, sparking concerns over press freedom and censorship. Users trying to access the handle were shown a message saying the account was blocked “in response to a legal demand”.

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Sources said a demand to block Reuters’ X account along with several hundred other accounts was made during Operation Sindoor in May

While several accounts were blocked in India, Reuters handle wasn’t. Elon Musk-owned X seems to have acted on that request and blocked Reuters’ X handle in India.

And since the issue is not relevant now, the government has asked X to explain the blocking and lift the embargo.

"An order was issued on May 7 (during Operation Sindoor) but it was not enforced. X seems to have enforced that order now which is a mistake on their part. Government has reached out to X for resolving it at the earliest," an official source said.

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Reuters’s official X handle, along with Reuters World, is still not accessible in India, while all the affiliated handles on the social media platform, such as Reuters Tech News, Reuters Fact Check, Reuters Asia, and Reuters China, can be accessed.

X users attempting to access the main account can see a message that reads: "Account withheld. @ Reuters has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand."

The social media company has an explainer about such messages on its help center page titled "About country withheld content". The message means X was forced to block the entire account specified or posts in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court order or local laws.

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