Reuters' X account blocked in India; govt says no legal requirement made
However, a government spokesperson said there is no legal requirement made by it to withhold the account and it is working with X to resolve the issue.
PTI
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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"
New
Delhi, 6 July
International news agency Reuters' X account has been withheld in
India "in response to a legal demand", as per notice displayed by the
social media platform.
However,
a government spokesperson said there is no legal requirement made by it to
withhold the account and it is working with X to resolve the issue.
Reuters'
X account is likely to be restored soon.
"There
is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold Reuters and we are
continuously working with X to resolve the problem," the spokesperson
said.
Sources
said a demand for blocking of Reuters' X account alongside several hundreds of
other accounts was made during Operation Sindoor in May.
While
several accounts were blocked from accessing in India, Reuters handle wasn't.
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.
The
official accounts of Chinese media organisation Global Times and Turkish media
house TRT World on X were also blocked again citing legal demand, which the
government said was not required now.
"There
is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold Global times
news/trtworld handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the
problem," the spokesperson said.
On
random check it was found that Chinese Xinhua News and some other media
outlets, that were also blocked during Operation Sindoor, continued to be
accessible.
"An
order was issued on 7 May (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 accounts 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
posted in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court order or local
laws.
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