'We Disagree, But...': Elon Musk's X Says Centre Issued Orders To Withhold Accounts

The Indian government has issued “executive orders” requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, the Elon Musk-led organisation claimed on Thursday, adding that it disagrees with these actions in accordance with the freedom of expression, but will “withhold the accounts and posts in India”. However, the Centre is yet to respond to the allegations.

Releasing a statement on the Indian government’s instruction to withhold certain accounts, the micro-blogging platform said, “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. Consistent with our position, a writ appeal challenging the Indian government’s blocking orders remains pending. We have also provided the impacted users with notice of these actions in accordance with our policies,” the statement added.

Taking to X, the global government affairs team of the platform said that they are unable to publish the Centre’s executive orders due to legal restrictions, but “believe that making them public is essential for transparency”.

Meanwhile, it is important to note that the claims made by Elon Musk’s organisation are set to turn into a big debate across the country. Back in 2021, the social media platform, then called Twitter and run by different leadership, objected to the Centre’s guidelines for the platform and expressed concern about the “potential threat to freedom of expression”.