X Blocks Reuters in India, Cites Legal Demand Government Denies
In a move that has raised both eyebrows and alarms, X—the social media platform formerly known as Twitter—has blocked access to two major Reuters accounts in India: the main @Reuters handle and @ReutersWorld. Indian users attempting to access these accounts are now met with a stark message: the content has been “withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand.”
However, the legal basis for this action is unclear. A spokesperson for the Indian government told Reuters that no agency had issued such a takedown request, directly contradicting the platform’s stated rationale.
Reuters, which commands 25 million followers on X, confirmed that it is working with the platform to resolve the matter. The organization further noted that in May, its social media team received a notice from X indicating that certain content was being withheld in India at the government’s request. However, the notification offered no details on which agency initiated the request or what specific content was being targeted.
This development adds a new layer of complexity to X’s already strained relationship with the Indian government. The company has previously criticized India’s policies on online content moderation, even filing a lawsuit in March 2025. That suit contested the government’s use of a centralized portal, which X alleged enabled “unrestrained censorship of information” and allowed “countless” public officials to block posts or suspend accounts. The government, in turn, maintains that the platform is merely being notified about harmful content.
Globally, X is no stranger to legal stand-offs with national governments. In Brazil, the platform faced a prolonged battle with the country’s Supreme Court in 2024. That confrontation led to X temporarily halting its operations in the region before being banned altogether for over a month.
For global media organizations like Reuters—and the millions who rely on them—the implications of such actions are profound. As platforms evolve into geopolitical actors, decisions made behind closed servers can affect the public’s access to verified, high-quality news. At the same time, governments are leveraging opaque legal mechanisms to shape online narratives, often with little transparency or oversight.
The lack of clarity in this latest instance—where a major global news outlet is effectively silenced without any verifiable legal mandate—sets a troubling precedent. In the absence of transparency from either side, questions about due process, media freedom, and the integrity of digital platforms will continue to mount.
As enterprise leaders and digital strategists navigate increasingly complex regulatory landscapes, tools like LiveChat and Helpdesk offer robust capabilities for real-time communication and customer support—particularly crucial when trust and clarity are at stake in public-facing operations.
In an era where access to information is increasingly shaped by algorithms and unseen decisions, what responsibilities should platforms like X bear in preserving global press freedom?
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