X (formerly Twitter) on Thursday reported its compliance with executive orders from the Indian government, stating that it will withhold certain accounts and posts. The Ministry Of Electronic and Information technology on February 14 had issued emergency order on the behalf of Ministry of Home Affairs on February 14 day after 'Delhi Chalo' March began.
The Global Government Affairs account, X wrote, “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, we disagree with these actions and maintain that freedom of expression should extend to these posts,” it further read.
Although in its statement, the firm also showed its disagreement with the executive order and highlighted its obligation towards freedom of speech, X that is owned by Elon Musk is huge advocate to for freedom of speech and calls himself a 'free speech absolutist'.
In the statement it also mentioned that a writ appeal challenging the orders of the Indian government regarding the suspending of accounts currently remains pending, backing its commitment for freedom of speech.
“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,” it said.
Pointing out the transparency of the executive orders, it mentioned that due to legal restrictions it cannot be published.
“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.”, X further added in its statement.
Various Social Media Accounts Banned On Feb 14, Meity Issues Emergency Order
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology's (MeitY) issued a emergency order, top social media platforms including Facebook, Instagram, Reddit, X (formerly Twitter), and Snap were directed to block 177 accounts and links associated with the farmers' protest, PTI reported.
These orders were issued at the request of the Ministry of Home Affairs and the final orders were issued on February 14. Both sets of orders are conditional and valid until the duration of the protest, after which the social media companies can restore the blocked accounts and channels.
Twitter's Past Objections To Centre's Guidelines
Notably, In 2021, when the platform was known as Twitter under Jack Dorsey had raised its objections to the Centre's guidelines, citing concerns about the "potential threat to freedom of expression." In response, the government urged the platform to "stop beating around the bush" and instead comply with the laws of the land, rather than attempting to "dictate terms" to the world's largest democracy.
