Reuters account on X restored in India after brief block over legal demand

The official X (formerly Twitter) account of Reuters was restored in India on Sunday evening, a day after it was blocked following a legal demand. The global news agency’s account, with more than 25 million followers, had been inaccessible to Indian users since Saturday night.

In a brief email sent to Reuters’ social media team, X said, “At this time, we are no longer withholding access in INDIA to your account,” without explaining the reason behind the suspension or reversal.

Earlier in the day, a spokesperson from India’s Press Information Bureau told Reuters that no government agency had issued instructions to withhold the account. Officials were said to be coordinating with X to investigate and resolve the issue.

A Reuters spokesperson confirmed that the agency had been working with X to restore access, saying, “Reuters was working with X to resolve this matter and get the Reuters account reinstated in India as soon as possible.”

Reuters World, another X handle operated by the agency that was also blocked, was restored late Sunday night.

When users in India attempted to visit @Reuters on Saturday, they were met with a message stating, “has been withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand.” A previous email from X on May 16 had notified Reuters of a legal request under India’s Information Technology Act, 2000, which allows content to be blocked if it is found to threaten public order, national security, or contravene local laws.

However, Reuters could not determine whether the May 16 email was linked to this weekend’s suspension or identify which government entity submitted the takedown request. The email from X did not specify which content triggered the action or the exact reason for the block.

Tensions between X and India’s government have been ongoing, particularly over content moderation rules. In March, the platform filed a legal challenge against the government, arguing that a new official website grants extensive content removal powers to multiple government officials. The Indian government, in turn, claimed X mischaracterised the site, which it insists merely informs tech firms of problematic content.