Reuters X account withheld in India ‘in response to a legal demand’

The official X account of global news agency Reuters has been withheld in India “in response to a legal demand”.

It was not immediately clear whether the suspension request was made by the Government of India or a competent court.

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The reason behind the move is also unclear at the moment. The news agency has not issued any official statement in response to the suspension of its X account.

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, too, has not issued any statement on the matter that has since raised both curiosity and concern.

India ranks 151st in the World Press Freedom Index, which is lower than countries like Bangladesh, Uganda, Libya and Somalia.

Earlier this year, X (formerly Twitter) said that the Indian government had ordered it to block access to over 8,000 accounts, including some international news outlets, in India.

A detailed statement issued by the social media giant’s Global Government Affairs stated that it withheld these accounts in India to comply with the executive orders, subject to significant fines and imprisonment of the company’s local employees.

However, the company expressed its disagreement, saying blocking accounts “amounts to censorship of existing and future content and is contrary to the fundamental rights of free speech.”