'Follow law of land,' India warns X after Musk's move
What's the story
The Indian government has reminded Elon Musk-owned social media platform X, formerly Twitter, to follow the law of the land. The reminder comes after Musk announced that his company would start disclosing government censorship requests. A government official told PTI, "X will have to follow the law of the land," in response to this move by Musk.
Transparency initiative
X to label posts removed under government orders
Musk had announced that X would clearly label government-mandated censorship.
The proposed changes would let users know when a post has been taken down or an account restricted at the request of authorities.
The platform also plans to reveal details about the government agency making such requests and, if applicable, the legal basis for it.
Rising trend
Surge in government requests to social media platforms
The announcement comes as the number of government requests to social media platforms in India has skyrocketed.
Data accessed by The Indian Express shows that Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube received nearly 1.95 lakh government-backed blocking directions between March and July this year.
This amounts to about 1,275 directions every day or roughly one every 68 seconds.
Compliance expectations
Centre's response to Musk's announcement
Musk's announcement is in line with his long-standing demand for greater transparency over content moderation on X.
However, the proposed disclosures do not change X's obligations under Indian law.
The Centre's response makes it clear that while the platform may choose to disclose government requests to its users, it must comply with legally valid directions issued by Indian authorities.