India asked X to block 2,300 accounts- then reversed
The microblogging platform X (East Twitter) on Tuesday claimed that the Government of India ordered to block more than 2,300 accounts on July 3. The order also included the official handle of the Global News Agency Reuters.
The Global Government Affairs team of X said in a post that the Government of India ordered all these accounts to be blocked under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) asked to follow the order within an hour without giving any reason and keep the accounts an indefinite block.
Order withdrew after public protest
According to the X, after the public protest, the government on Sunday requested to unlocate the accounts of Reuters (@Ruters and @REUTERSWORLD). These accounts were blocked to users in India on Sunday, but were later restored on the same day.
X expressed concern over the press sensorship in India, saying that it was considering all legal options. However, X under Indian law has obstacles in making legal challenge against these government orders. The company has appealed to the affected users to find legal measures through courts.
Ministry reply: No new order has been given
On the other hand, Meity dismissed X’s claims and said that no new blocking order was issued on July 3. The ministry claimed that as soon as the Reuters’ accounts were blocked, it demanded to restore the accounts from July 5, in constant contact with the X.
The ministry says that X delayed by citing technical reasons and unlocked Reuters and other URLs only after 9 pm on 6 July, which took more than 21 hours.
X filed a case against the government
The X has filed a case against the Government of India in the Karnataka High Court, challenging the blocking orders issued under the Information Technology Act 2000. The company says that these orders lack adequate security measures. The case was heard on Tuesday.
The X has demanded amendment in its petition filed in March, including the demand for the cancellation of Rule 3 (1) (D) of the Information Technology Regulation. This rule gives government agencies the power to order the intermediaries (eg X) to remove the content.
There has been a dispute between X and the government before
This is not the first time that there has been a confrontation between X and the Government of India. In May this year, the handle of the Global Government Affairs Team of X was blocked in India, which was unlocked a day later. At that time the government had issued an order to block 8,000 accounts.
Basis of legal dispute
The petition of X states that Section 79 (3) (b) does not give the government the right to issue blocking orders to the mediators. This section says to remove the legal exemption given to the mediators. If they do not follow the government’s takedown orders.
In collaboration with Rule 3 (1) (D) of the Information Technology (Arbitrator Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Act-2021, it allows the government to remove the content.
