Reuters X account restored in India after suspension over legal demand | تازہ ترین پاکستان کی خبریں

Reuters X account restored in India after suspension over legal demand — TheReutersNews account on X was restored in India on Sunday, a day after the social media platformsuspendedit, citing a legal demand. “At this time, w...

TheReutersNews account on X was restored in India on Sunday, a day after the social media platformsuspendedit, citing a legal demand.

“At this time, we are no longer withholding access in India to your account,” X said in an email to theReuterssocial media team, without elaborating.

Representatives for X,Reutersand the Indian government did not immediately respond to requests for comment on the restoration of the account.

Earlier on Sunday, a spokesperson for the Indian government’s Press Information Bureau toldReutersthat no Indian government agency had required withholding theReutershandle, adding that officials were working with X to resolve the problem.

AReutersspokesperson had said the agency was working with X to resolve this matter and get theReutersaccount reinstated in India as soon as possible.

Reuters World, another X account operated by the news agency, which was blocked in India, was also restored late on Sunday night.

The mainReutersaccount, which has more than 25 million followers globally, had been blocked in India since Saturday night. A notice told X users that “@Reutershas been withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand”.

In an email to theReuterssocial media team on May 16, X said: “It is our policy to notify account holders if we receive a legal request from an authorised entity (such as law enforcement or a government agency) to remove content from their account.”

“In order to comply with X obligations under India’s local laws, we have withheld your X account in India under the country’s Information Technology Act, 2000; the content remains available elsewhere”.

Reuterscould not ascertain if the May 16 email was linked to Saturday’s account suspension, nor could it determine what specific content the demand referred to, why its removal was sought or the entity that had lodged the complaint.

While the email did not specify which entity had made the request or what content they sought to remove, it said X had been advised that in such cases, a user could contact the secretary of India’s Information and Broadcasting Ministry.

The secretary, Sanjay Jaju, did not respond to requests seeking comment.

The 2000 law allows designated government officials to demand the takedown of content from social media platforms they deem to violate local laws, including on the grounds of national security or if a post threatens public order.

X has long been at odds with India’s government over content-removal requests. In March, the companysuedthe federal government over a new government website that the company says expands takedown powers to “countless” government officials.

The case is continuing. India has said X wrongly labelled an official website a “censorship portal”, as the website only allows tech companies to be notified about harmful online content.