Elon Musk's X Firm Rejects Government's Call to Block Accounts and Remove Posts Tied to Farmers' Protest

Elon Musk's X Firm Rejects Government's Call to Block Accounts and Remove Posts Tied to Farmers' Protest

On Thursday, the social media platform X, previously known as Twitter, said no to the Ministry of Home Affairs request to stop accounts and remove posts related to the current farmers' protests.

The Ministry of Electronics and IT told the social media platform to temporarily limit 177 accounts linked to the farmers' protests.

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,…

— Global Government Affairs (@GlobalAffairs) February 21, 2024

In reply, X called for an extension of freedom of expression, refusing the government's request. X explained in a post, "The Indian government has given orders for X to take action on certain accounts and posts, with possible penalties like hefty fines and imprisonment. Following these orders, we will only restrict these accounts and posts in India. However, we don't agree with these actions and believe that freedom of expression should apply to these posts.

The social media platform mentioned that they have submitted a written appeal against the Indian government's blocking orders, which is currently pending review. They called for the public release of the order to ensure transparency.

Because of legal restrictions, we can't publish the executive orders, but we think it's crucial to make them public for transparency. Not sharing these orders may result in a lack of accountability and decisions being made without clear reasons," stated X.

Farmers all across the country are coming together to support their rights, which include seeking legal assurance for the minimum support price (MSP) for crops and the forgiveness of agricultural debts.