Elon Musk-owned X on Tuesday took a sharp dig at the Indian government after news agency Reuters' official account on the platform was withheld from Indian audiences last Saturday.
The Global Government Affairs account on X (formerly Twitter) alleged that the Indian government on July 3, 2025, had ordered X “to block 2,355 accounts in India—including international news outlets”, such as Reuters' official profile, and a subsidiary profile, known as Reuters World—under Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act.
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…
— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) July 8, 2025
However, an official spokesperson from the Indian government has denied the allegations made by X, saying that there was "no fresh blocking order" issued to withhold Reuters' account, nor any intention to do so either.
It also alleged that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had “demanded immediate action” within an hour, and had stated that the blocked accounts were to remain as such “until further notice”. Refusing to adhere to the order “risked criminal liability”, they added.
“After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,” the accusatory X post read. Reuters' official X profile was unblocked for Indians last Sunday.
X's Global Government Affairs account is one that serves as an official voice for the social media platform's engagement with governments, regulators and policymakers worldwide.
Earlier that day, a spokesperson for the India's Press Information Bureau explained that no Indian government agency had put forth fresh orders to withhold the Reuters handle, adding that officials were working with X to resolve the problem—a statement that contradicts the one made from X's side.
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The moment Reuters and ReutersWorld were blocked on X platform in India, immediately the government wrote to 'X' to unblock them."
In India's pushback statement, the spokesperson added:
"The Government continuously engaged and vigorously pursued 'X' from the late night of July 5, 2025. 'X' unnecessarily exploited technicalities involved in the process and didn't unblock the URLs. However, after a lot of follow-ups on an hourly basis, X finally unblocked Reuters and other URLs after 9 PM on July 6, 2025. They took more than 21 hours to unblock Reuters."
Reports also say that a demand for blocking of Reuters' X account alongside several hundreds of other accounts had been made during Operation Sindoor on May 7. While the news agency's account was not blocked at the time, sources suggested that X acted on the embargo order much later by mistake, a Hindu article said.
Expressing deep concern over the move, Global Government Affairs explained that X had been exploring all legal options available, despite being restricted by Indian law.
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“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," they said.
The social media platform has often been at loggerheads with the government over orders on blocking accounts. In March, it sued the Centre, accusing it of misusing information technology laws to create an "unlawful blocking regime", as per an NDTV report.
