- X said it was ordered to restrict thousands of accounts successful India.
- The institution said its unit successful India faced "significant fines and imprisonment" if it didn't comply.
- The takedown petition follows a Kashmir panic onslaught that has reignited India-Pakistan tensions.
Elon Musk's X says India's authorities has ordered it to artifact much than 8,000 accounts successful the state oregon perchance look "significant fines and imprisonment" for section X staff.
The company's planetary authorities affairs squad said Thursday that it had begun restricting entree to the flagged accounts successful India.
"X has received enforcement orders from the Indian authorities requiring X to artifact implicit 8,000 accounts successful India, taxable to imaginable penalties including important fines and imprisonment of the company's section employees," the global authorities affairs squad relationship wrote successful an
X said the order, which comes arsenic tensions escalate betwixt India and Pakistan, includes demands to artifact planetary quality organizations and high-profile users.
X added that it disagreed with the demands, which amounted to "censorship of existing and aboriginal content," but said it would "withhold the specified accounts successful India alone."
The directive appears to beryllium portion of a wider crackdown targeting societal media accounts tied to Pakistani politicians, media outlets, and celebrities.
India has besides blocked much than a twelve Pakistani YouTube channels successful caller weeks, accusing them of spreading "provocative" content. Several of the blocked channels beryllium to Pakistani quality outlets.
Meta blocked access to a salient Muslim quality leafage connected Instagram successful India astatine the government's request, the page's laminitis said Wednesday.
Military clashes betwixt India and Pakistan person ramped up successful caller days pursuing a deadly onslaught connected tourists successful Kashmir past period that killed 26 people.
"In astir cases, the Indian authorities has not specified which posts from an relationship person violated India's section laws. For a important fig of accounts, we did not person immoderate grounds oregon justification to artifact the accounts", X's planetary affairs squad continued.
The takedown petition could adhd hostility to Musk's expanding concern interests successful India. India's premier minister, Narendra Modi, spoke with Musk successful April astir increasing tech collaboration. Tesla is readying to unfastened showroom locations successful Delhi and Mumbai, and Musk's outer company, Starlink, is seeking last support to motorboat outer net successful the country.
A spokesperson from X and India's authorities did not instantly respond to requests for remark from BI.