X has once again moved to block a range of accounts in India, at the request of Indian government officials, amid rising tensions between India and Pakistan, and Indian authorities looking to manage the situation.
Which goes against X’s free speech principles, but when the alternative is that X will be shut down in the region, in a time of need, it does seem like a reasonable compromise.
As explained by X:
“X has received executive orders from the Indian government requiring X to block over 8,000 accounts in India, subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment of the company’s local employees. The orders include demands to block access in India to accounts belonging to international news organizations and prominent X users. In most cases, the Indian government has not specified which posts from an account have violated India’s local laws.”
X says that it hasn’t received any evidence to support the Indian government’s censorship requests, but that it will action such anyway.
“To comply with the orders, we will withhold the specified accounts in India alone. We have begun that process. However, we disagree with the Indian government’s demands. Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech.”
As noted, when the alternative is to see the platform blocked, a tool that keeps many Indian users informed, a decision like this makes sense. However it does run counter to X’s broader free speech ethos, and it is interesting that X is taking action in this instance, but has decided to stand up to similar requests in other markets.
In Brazil, for example, X was temporarily suspended last year after it refused to action a government request to remove content.
X owner Elon Musk went on the offensive, singling out and attacking individual members of the Brazilian Supreme Court and government.
Eventually, though, X complied with the requests, but it is notable that X is picking and choosing its battles in this regard.
Why would X be more willing to action such requests in one region and not another?
Well, there is a question about Elon Musk’s broader business interests, and how conflict with certain governments could cause other issues.
Both Tesla and Starlink, for example, are trying to get a foothold in the Indian market, and will need regulatory approval to expand their respective operations. Musk’s association with the U.S. government is reportedly helping in this regard, with some U.S. officials advising nations to approve Starlink access as a form of goodwill to ease government negotiations.
But if Musk’s X decides to battle the Indian government, that could sour expanded dealings.
To clarify, Meta’s also complying with similar requests from the Indian government, and has been criticized in the nation as a result.
Meta recently suspended a prominent Muslim news page on Instagram, at the behest of Indian officials, which some have labeled as overt censorship in a time of crisis.
So X isn’t alone in removing this content, in alignment with the Indian government’s requests. But it’s another example of X’s, and Musk’s, variable approach to such, which is worthy of note.
X says that it’s exploring all possible legal avenues available to the company to oppose the Indian government’s orders.