As the X handle of the international news agency Reuters is currently inaccessible to Indian users, the Centre has denied any role in the same and said that there has been no requirement from the Indian Government and that work is going on with the social media platform owned by Elon Musk to resolve the issue.
ANI quoted an official spokesperson of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology as saying, “There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold the Reuters handle. We are continuously working with ‘X’ to resolve the problem.”
“There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold the Reuters handle. We are continuously working with ‘X’ to resolve the problem,” says the Official Spokesperson, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. — ANI (@ANI) July 6, 2025
This clarification by the Indian government comes after the official handle of the organisation was withheld in India.
The page of Reuters on the social media platform currently shows ‘Account Withheld’.
Users who attempted to access the Reuters account in India encountered the message, “@ Reuters has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand.”
The X handles of Turkiye’s TRT, China’s Global Times also encountered the same ‘Account Withheld’ message.
IANS reported, citing officials familiar with the matter, that the only request for blocking Reuters’ X account was issued on May 7, during the Indian Armed Forces’ Operation Sindoor that was launched against Pakistan following the massacre of 26 Indian tourists in Pahalgam.
Although several accounts were blocked due to national security reasons, no action was implemented to block the Reuters handle on X despite the government order, the official added.
It appears that X may have mistakenly enforced the outdated order.
What Is ‘Account Withheld’?
On its help centre page, the X explains that such messages “about country withheld content” mean that X 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.
“If you see the above message, it means X withheld content based on local law(s) in response to a report filed through specific support intake channels,” the social media platform explained.
Reportedly, Reuters had earlier confirmed the development, saying it was seeking more information on why its handle was blocked in India. However, after the Centre’s clarification on the matter, the agency has not issued any statement yet.
Despite the block on Reuters’ main and Reuters World handles, several affiliated accounts, including Reuters Tech News, Reuters Fact Check, Reuters Asia, and Reuters China, remain accessible within India.
(with ANI inputs)
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