New Delhi: The Indian government has ordered social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to block more than 8,000 accounts in India, media reports said.

X revealed on its Global Government Affairs account that it has received executive orders from the government of India to block the accounts subject to potential penalties including significant fines and imprisonment of the company’s local employees.

“The orders include demands to block access in India to accounts belonging to international news organisations and prominent X users,” the post read.

The platform said in most of the cases, the Indian government has not mentioned which posts from an account violated Indian laws.

“For a significant number of accounts, we did not receive any evidence or justification to block the accounts,” noted X.

X has stated that the specified accounts will be restricted only within India and that it has initiated the process. “However, we disagree with the Indian government’s demands. Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech,” said the social media platform.

Acknowledging the difficulty of the decision, X said, “This is not an easy decision, however keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians’ ability to access information.”

The company also noted it is considering all legal options available to it. “Unlike users located in India, X is restricted by Indian law in its ability to bring legal challenges against these executive orders. However, we encourage all users who are impacted by these blocking orders to seek appropriate relief from the courts,” it added.