X (formerly Twitter) has stated that the Indian government ordered the platform to block Reuters News accounts in India. This move has ignited concerns about press freedom and censorship within the country.

On July 8, 2025, X's Global Government Affairs team posted that on July 3, 2025, the Indian government directed X to block 2,355 accounts in India, including international news outlets such as Reuters and Reuters World. The order was reportedly issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act. X stated that non-compliance with the order risked criminal liability. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) allegedly demanded immediate action, within one hour, without providing justification, and required the accounts to remain blocked until further notice.

X further stated that following public outcry, the government requested that X unblock the Reuters and ReutersWorld accounts. The platform has expressed deep concern regarding ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders and is exploring all available legal options. X also noted that, unlike users in India, it is restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges against these executive orders and urged affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts.

However, the Indian government has denied issuing any fresh blocking orders on July 3, 2025, and stated it has no intention of blocking any prominent international news channels, including Reuters and Reuters World. According to the government, it immediately wrote to X to unblock the accounts after they were blocked on the platform. The government also claimed that it continuously and vigorously engaged with X from the late night of July 5, 2025. The government criticized X for allegedly exploiting technicalities and taking over 21 hours to unblock Reuters.

The IT Ministry issued a statement on July 6, 2025, stating there was no requirement from the Government of India to withhold the Reuters handle and that it was continuously working with X to resolve the problem.

X, formerly known as Twitter, has had a history of disagreements with the Indian government regarding content removal requests. In March 2025, X sued the Indian government over a new government website that the company claims expands takedown powers to countless government officials.

The 2000 IT law in India allows designated government officials to demand the removal of content from social media platforms if the content violates local laws, threatens national security, or endangers public order.