Govt Ordered To Block 2,355 Accounts Including Reuters And Reuters World, Says X

New Delhi: X on Tuesday informed that the government asked them to block 2,355 accounts in India on July 3, 2025 including that of news outlets like Reuters and Reuters World.

The micro-blogging site X, formerly Twitter, informed that they were asked to block these accounts under Section 69A of the IT Act.

X's Global Governance Affairs handle said, “Non-compliance risked criminal liability. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology demanded immediate action- within one hour- without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked until further notice.”

“After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld," it said. 

X's Global Governance Affairs further said, “We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders. X is exploring all legal options available. Unlike users located in India, X is restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges against these executive orders. We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts.”

On July 3, Reuters' X account appeared to be blocked in India around midnight. However, no official statement or explanation was provided at the time. Upon visiting Reuters' X page, a message displayed, "@Reuters has been withheld in INDIA in response to a legal demand." The nature of the legal demand remained unclear.

Later, the Centre clarified that it had not requested the account to be withheld and stated it was working with X to resolve the issue.

“There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold Reuters, and we are continuously working with X to resolve the problem,” a spokesperson said.

Reuters has not issued any statement regarding the blocking of its X account in India, leaving the reason behind the legal demand unexplained.