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A fig of radical who station contented captious of the authorities connected their X accounts were greeted precocious connected Wednesday (March 18, 2026) evening with an email from the societal media platform, telling them that their accounts were present withheld successful India. The reason: a takedown bid issued by the Union authorities nether Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The accounts, galore of which are tally pseudonymously, posted memes and different contented criticising the authorities successful the weeks and months starring up to their handles being censored. The accounts and posts stay disposable to X users extracurricular India.
The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), a Delhi-based integer rights advocacy, called the censorship “alarming,” and said that “independent reporting documented takedowns affecting code that appears political, satirical, oregon critical, alternatively than intelligibly unlawful.”
‘Dangerous trend’
Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said astatine a property briefing successful Delhi that this censorship was an “extremely unsafe trend.” Ms. Shrinate accused the authorities of deciding “what is acceptable, what is not acceptable connected societal media,” adding that “anything captious of the Prime Minister volition person to go.”
The accounts targeted see handles that collectively person lakhs of followers, but are mostly tally anonymously. The Caravan mag said that 1 of its posts, excerpting a communicative it published, was besides taken down nether Section 69A, which allows the authorities to instrumentality down online contented by sending a announcement to the platforms that big it.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) did not respond to questions connected the takedowns. Over the past fewer weeks, respective idiosyncratic posts mocking, criticising and satirising the Union authorities and Prime Minister Narendra Modi person besides been “withheld” by X and Meta’s Instagram successful India, though the authorities has not straight contacted those who posted this content. None of the deleted posts from this play look to person been reinstated, adjacent arsenic the IFF said it was helping immoderate users situation the censorship with the IT Ministry.
Safeguards defeated
“We punctual the Union Government that the Supreme Court upheld Section 69A successful the Shreya Singhal [v. Union of India] lawsuit connected the ground of procedural safeguards and written reasons that could beryllium challenged,” IFF said successful its statement. “Secret and inaccessible censorship defeats those safeguards successful practice. IFF calls connected the Union authorities to halt immoderate determination to decentralise Section 69A blocking powers further, people blocking orders lone arsenic per the missive and tone of the Shreya Singhal judgement, and guarantee timely announcement to affected users with wide grounds and avenues for remedy.”
This is simply a notation to reports claiming that the authorities is considering allowing different Ministries to straight contented takedown orders nether Section 69A, alternatively of routing them done MeitY.
‘India has go North Korea’
Sandeep Singh, an autarkic contented creator whose relationship was withheld, said, “I americium challenging this determination legally, and americium doing my champion to reclaim my voice.”
Other creators targeted by takedowns besides struck a defiant note. @Nher_who, who has much than 2.4 lakh followers, posted, “If the govt thinks this blocking intimidation tin soundless [sic] me, they are heavy mistaken. Indians can’t spot my station without Vpn [virtual backstage networks] but the satellite tin and they volition cognize however India has go North Korea.”
