Elon Musk Expresses Concern Over Press Censorship In India After Reuters X Account Withheld In India

Elon Musk’s X just kicked up a fuss about “press censorship” in India. This all blew up after Reuters—the big-deal global news agency—had its X account basically zapped for Indian users.

X’s Global Government Affairs team went public, throwing shade at the Indian government.

Elon Musk Expresses Concern Over Indian Press Censorship

They claimed that on July 3rd, the authorities hit them with a list (2,355 accounts deep, including Reuters) to be blocked—supposedly under Section 69A of the IT Act. And here’s the kicker: apparently, X had one hour to comply, or else they’d be looking at criminal charges. No explanation, no nothing. Just “do it, or else.”

X didn’t just sit quietly, though. They posted that they’re “deeply concerned” about what they see as censorship, and said they’re looking into legal options. But, since they’re a company and not just a regular user, Indian law ties their hands a bit when it comes to fighting government orders. They even told users to go to court if they want to fight back. Not exactly a warm-and-fuzzy moment.

What Did The IT Ministry Say? 

After the Reuters blackout, the IT ministry jumped in to say that they did not order this and that they were working with X to fix the mess.

Some insiders suggested the whole thing might’ve just been a glitch—classic “technical issue” excuse. But Reuters wasn’t the only account in the crosshairs. TRT World from Turkey and China’s Global Times News also vanished from Indian timelines, though all those accounts magically reappeared about a day later.

The official line from the Indian government? They deny issuing any new orders to block Reuters on July 3rd. In fact, as soon as the Reuters accounts disappeared, they say they reached out to X to get them restored.

Plus, they threw a little jab back, saying X dragged their feet and got a bit too hung up on “technicalities.” In the end, it took more than 21 hours—after a lot of back-and-forth—for Reuters and the others to come back online.

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