Elon Musk says India ordered it to block 8,000 accounts or face jail for local staff
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India has ordered X to block access to more than 8,000 accounts or face legal punishment for its local employees. Now, X complied with the directive but called the action censorship, noting that it received little to no evidence or justification in most cases. This incident comes amid growing India-Pakistan tensions following a deadly attack in Kashmir and raises serious questions about how far governments can go in pressuring platforms to restrict content.

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X confirmed on Thursday that the Indian government issued multiple executive orders demanding it block thousands of user accounts in India. The platform's global government affairs team stated that India threatened significant fines and imprisonment for the company's employees based in the country if it refused to comply. X responded by limiting access to the accounts inside India while keeping them active in the rest of the world.

Now, the orders arrived after a recent terror attack in Indian-administered Kashmir killed 26 people, triggering renewed military friction between India and Pakistan. And the Indian government's response has included digital censorship of accounts tied to Pakistani figures, media, and public figures. Now, officials accused these accounts of sharing what they termed as provocative or inflammatory content.

The Indian Ministry of Information and Broadcasting also took action against Pakistani content on YouTube, blocking over a dozen channels since the Kashmir incident. These included major Pakistani news outlets with wide followings. The government said it acted under national security laws but did not make specific posts public in its jurisdiction.

Meta separately restricted a major Muslim news page on Instagram within India. The page's founder said the removal came at the government's request, again with little explanation. This signals that the censorship is extending beyond X to other global tech companies operating in the country.

X said it strongly disagreed with the Indian orders, but stated it had no realistic choice but to follow them to protect its employees. The company claimed the move amounted to direct censorship of both current and future content. It also emphasized that it had received no clear legal explanation from many of the accounts flagged.

X pointed out that in several cases, the government failed to identify any individual posts that violated Indian law. The company said many of the orders lacked supporting documentation or context. This lack of transparency has made it harder for the platform to challenge the government's actions under Indian law.

The issue is especially complex because of Elon Musk's growing business ties in India. Musk met with the Indian Prime Minister Modi in April to discuss deeper cooperation between his companies and Indian tech sectors. Tesla is planning to enter the Indian car market with showrooms in Delhi and Mumbai. Starlink is awaiting regulatory approval to launch satellite internet services in India. This puts Elon Musk in a difficult situation.

On one hand, X claims to stand for free speech and open internet access. And on the other hand, Musk has business priorities in India that require him to maintain a working relationship with the Modi government. These recent actions raise a pressing question. Can global tech platforms maintain their principles while trying to expand into countries with strict information controls?

For users in India, this means that because it limits the content, they can access online based on opaque decisions. For journalists and human rights groups, the suppression of international and regional news sources weakens accountability. Now, for platform employees, though, this introduces legal risk tied to decisions they may have little power to change.

The Indian government's legal pressure on X may set a precedent for future interactions with foreign tech companies. If the current pattern holds, any social media firm that wants to do business in India will have to accept the possibility of orders to block content without detailed jurisdiction. Now, the risk is that this normalizes government control over what users in India are allowed to see or say online.

X's legal options in India remain unclear. The platform has limited paths to appeal executive orders issued under India's information laws, especially when national security is cited. Musk's companies may push for policy changes beyond closed doors, but public challenges appear unlikely.

Now, the conflict between India's censorship orders and Musk's global business plans will likely continue, though. The Modi government wants tighter control over online narratives, especially during moments of heightened national tension. Musk's platforms want to maintain their presence in one of the world's largest markets, but that requires compliance with increasingly rigid demands.

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