ISLAMABAD: Social media platform X on Thursday expressed its disapproval of the Indian government’s order to block accounts and posts related to the ongoing farmers’ protests and called for freedom of expression to be extended to the affected posts.
According to Kashmir Media Service, India’s Ministry of Electronics and IT has ordered social media platforms to temporarily block 177 accounts linked to farmers’ protests at the request of the Home Ministry.
“The Government of India has issued executive orders requiring X to act on specific accounts and posts, subject to potential penalties including substantial fines and imprisonment. Pursuant to the orders, we will retain these accounts and contributions only in India; however, we disagree with these actions and argue that freedom of expression should extend to these posts as well,” X said in the post.
The social media platform said a court appeal challenging the Indian government’s blocking orders remains pending and called for the order to be made public to increase transparency.
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“Due to legal restrictions, we cannot publish executive orders, but we believe their publication is necessary for transparency. This lack of disclosure can lead to insufficient accountability and arbitrary decision-making,” X said.
The social media company provided affected users with notices of government action in accordance with the company’s policies.
Farmers across the country protested to press for their demands, including a legal guarantee of minimum support price (MSP) for crops and farm debt waiver.
Meanwhile, farm leaders on Wednesday suspended their march to the national capital for two days after a protester was killed and about 12 policemen were injured in clashes at one of the protest sites on the Punjab-Haryana border.
