Reuters X account withheld in India over ‘legal demand’: ‘No new ban order,’ say govt sources; Musk-owned platform asked to explain | India News

NEW DELHI: The X handle of international news agency Reuters has been withheld in India “in response to a legal demand,” according to a notice displayed by the social media platform.However, government sources denied having raised any new legal demand in this matter, and sought explanation from X, the social media platform owned by the world’s richest person, Elon Musk, and which was previously known as Twitter.“A demand for blocking Reuters’ X account alongside several hundreds of other accounts was made during Operation Sindoor,” news agency PTI quoted the sources as saying.As a result, several social media accounts were blocked from being accessed in India. However, the Reuters handle remained visible.According to sources, the social media giant seems to have acted on the earlier request now, and blocked the agency’s handle in India. Affiliated handles such as Reuters Tech News, Reuters Fact Check, Reuters Asia, and Reuters China remain accessible, while both official X account of the global news agency as well as the Reuters World handle are inaccessible.Users attempting to access the main account can see a message which reads: “Account withheld. @Reuters has been withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand.”On its help centre page, the social network explains messages such as “about country withheld content” means the company was “compelled” to withhold the entire account specified or posts in response to a valid legal demand, such as a court order or local laws.