X suspends Reuters account in India after ‘legal demand’; government denies making request

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Reuters news account has been inaccessible on billionaire Elon Musks X platform since July 5 for users in India.

PHOTO: REUTERS

Summary

• Reuters main X account and Reuters World have been blocked in India following a legal demand on July 5.
• X stated the action complies with Indias Information Technology Act, 2000, following content-removal requests.
• The Indian government denies requiring the block, while Reuters is working with X to restore the account.

AI generated

NEW DELHI - The Reuters News account on X has been inaccessible to users in India since July 5, when the social media platform suspended it in response to what it described as a “legal demand”.

A spokesperson for the Indian government’s Press Information Bureau, however, told Reuters there was no requirement from any agency in the government of India to “withhold the Reuters handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem”.

Reuters could not immediately determine what specific content the demand referred to, why its removal was sought, or the entity that had lodged the complaint.

Representatives for X did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

A Reuters spokesperson said in a statement, “We are working with X to resolve this matter and get Reuters account reinstated in India as soon as possible.”

Reuters World, another X account operated by the news agency, has also been blocked in India.

The main Reuters account, followed by more than 25 million users globally, has been blocked in India since the night of July 5. A note tells X users