Reuters’ X account withheld in India ‘in response to legal demand’

Demand for blocking Reuters' X account alongside several hundreds of other accounts was made during Operation Sindoor

Representative image of Thomson Reuters (NH file photo)
Representative image of Thomson Reuters (NH file photo)
user

PTI

International news agency Reuters' X account has been withheld in India "in response to a legal demand", according to a notification on the social media platform X.

However, government sources denied having raised any new legal demand in this matter and sought an explanation from X for blocking the Reuters account.

They said a demand for blocking Reuters' X account alongside several hundreds of other accounts was made during Operation Sindoor.

While several accounts were blocked from accessing in India, the Reuters handle wasn't.

According to sources, Elon Musk-owned X seems to have now acted on that request and blocked Reuters' X handle in India. And since the issue isn't relevant now, the government has asked X to explain the blocking and lift the embargo.

"An order was issued on May 7 (during Operation Sindoor) but it was not enforced. X seems to have enforced that order now which is a mistake on their part. Government has reached out to X for resolving it at the earliest," an official source said.

An email sent to Reuters seeking comments did not elicit a response.

While affiliated X handles such as Reuters Tech News, Reuters Fact Check, Reuters Asia, and Reuters China are accessible in India, both official X account of the global news agency as well as Reuters World handles are inaccessible.

X users attempting to access the main account can see a message that reads: "Account withheld. @ Reuters has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand."

On its help centre page, X explains such messages "about country withheld content" means X was compelled to withhold the entire account specified or posts in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court order or local laws.

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