X disagrees with govt’s move to block accounts, posts on farmers’ stir

Social media platform X on Thursday expressed strong disagreement with the Indian government’s order to block accounts and posts related to the ongoing farmers’ protests. In a statement released on Thursday, X emphasised its commitment to freedom of expression and called for the retraction of the blocking orders.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT has ordered social media platforms to temporarily block 177 accounts that were linked to farmers’ protests on request of the Ministry of Home Affairs, according to sources. In response, X stated, “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.”

The social media platform said that a writ appeal challenging the Indian government’s blocking orders remains pending and called for making the order public to enhance transparency.

“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 said.

The social media firm has provided the impacted users with notice of the government actions in accordance with the company’s policies.

Farmers from across the country have been protesting to press for their demands, including a legal guarantee for minimum support price (MSP) for crops and farm debt waiver.