India’s Blocking of Global News Outlets’ X Accounts Sparks Press Freedom Concerns

The recent blocking of over 2,300 X (formerly Twitter) accounts in India, including those of major international news organisations such as Reuters and Reuters World, has ignited a fierce debate about press freedom and government transparency. On July 3, 2025, X revealed that it had received a directive from India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block 2,355 accounts under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act. The order demanded immediate compliance within one hour and warned of criminal liability for non-compliance, yet failed to provide any justification for the sweeping action.

The move drew swift condemnation from X, which described itself as “deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India” and announced it was exploring legal options. The accounts of Reuters and several other international outlets were rendered inaccessible to Indian users, displaying notices that they were withheld in response to a legal demand. Following public outcry, the Indian government requested X to restore access to the Reuters accounts, which were subsequently unblocked after more than 21 hours.

Indian authorities, however, denied issuing any new blocking orders for international news channels on July 3, attributing the block to technical issues and asserting that they had acted promptly to resolve the situation. This episode forms part of a broader pattern of digital censorship and legal disputes between X and the Indian government, with critics warning that opaque, arbitrary enforcement of content restrictions undermines press freedom and democratic accountability.