X “Disagrees” Govt Directive to Block Accounts, Posts Related to Farmers’ Protest

New Delhi: Social media platform X owned by Elon Musk on Thursday disclosed its disagreement with the Indian government’s order to block accounts and posts related to the ongoing farmers’ protests. The Ministry of Electronics and IT on request of the Ministry of Home Affairs ordered social media platforms to temporarily block 177 accounts linked to farmers’ protest.

The Elon Musk-led organisation felt that the posts should not be withheld on grounds of freedom of expression.

The global government affairs team of X, said they are unable to publish the Centre’s executive orders due to legal restrictions, but “believe that making them public is essential for transparency”. The Centre is yet to respond to the allegations that were made in a post on X past midnight.

The Indian government has issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment. 

In compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however,…

— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) February 21, 2024

Indian government has issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment,” the post read.

“In compliance with the orders, we will withhold these accounts and posts in India alone; however, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts,” it added.

“Consistent with our position, a writ appeal challenging the Indian government’s blocking orders remains pending. We have also provided the impacted users with notice of these actions in accordance with our policies. Due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders, but we believe that making them public is essential for transparency. This lack of disclosure can lead to a lack of accountability and arbitrary decision-making,” the post stated.

The microblogging site’s big charge is set to turn into the latest flashpoint in its run-ins with the government over the past few years. This recent move by X comes after a Norwegian MP nominated Musk for the Nobel Peace Prize for being a “stout proponent of free speech”.