Rush Hour: X says India ordered blocking of Reuters handles, Bihar alters women’s quota rules & more

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Social media platform X said on Tuesday that the Indian government earlier this month directed it to block 2,355 accounts, including two handles of the Reuters news agency, in the country. Hours later, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology stated that it had not “issued any fresh blocking order” and “has no intention to block any prominent international news channels”.
X has stated that the Indian government asked it to block the accounts on July 3 “within hours”. The accounts of Reuters were blocked on the evening of July 5. “After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,” claimed the platform. “We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders.”
X stated that it was limited by India’s law in its ability to legally challenge orders to block accounts. “We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts,” it added. Read on.
Why India’s censorship of news media online without stating reasons is unlawful
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