00:00On 8th of May, social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, revealed that the Indian
00:06government had issued executive orders demanding the blocking of over 8,000 accounts within the
00:12country. The instructions, posted by X's global government affairs handle, come with a warning.
00:18Non-compliance could result in significant fines or even imprisonment of X's employees in India.
00:24The accounts belong to international news organizations and well-known public figures
00:29on the platform. But what is conspicuously absent is clarity. In most cases, the government has not
00:36specified which posts violated the local laws. And for many of the blocked accounts, X claims it
00:42was not provided with any evidence or justification at all. The companies said in a statement,
00:48blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it also amounts to censorship, adding that
00:54while it has begun withholding access to the named accounts within India, it strongly disagrees with
01:00the directive. Keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indian's ability to access
01:05information, said X. The company also stated that it is exploring all possible legal avenues,
01:11but noted a limitation. Indian law restricts X's ability as a foreign entity to challenge executive
01:18orders in the local courts. Instead, the platform has urged the affected users to pursue
01:24legal relief themselves, effectively leaving thousands to navigate a notoriously opaque judicial system.
01:30At the time of reporting, the executive orders themselves remain unpublished.
01:35Due to legal restrictions, we are unable to publish the executive orders at this time,
01:40X said in a statement. The lack of public discourse raises serious questions
01:45about transparency and due process. These restrictions have had an immediate impact on
01:50several independent reporters and large-scale publications. Digital news media company The
01:55Wire posted a statement on X condemning the recent government order and shared that the access to
02:01their website and application has been blocked in a clear violation of the constitutional guarantee of
02:07freedom of press. These restrictions come on the heels of a broader digital blackout. In the past week alone,
02:14over a dozen Pakistani YouTube channels, including several mainstream news outlets, were banned for
02:20allegedly spreading provocative content as hostilities between India and Pakistan flare following the
02:26deadly terrorist attack in Pehalgaam. This is not the first time social media platforms have clashed with
02:31the Indian state, but with over 8,000 accounts now on the chopping block, it may be the most sweeping crackdown yet.
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