Following the intensifying conflict between India and Pakistan after Operation Sindoor—which reportedly eliminated 100 terrorists across nine camps in Pakistan—the Indian government has launched a sweeping crackdown on cross-border digital content. In the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack, several YouTube channels accused of spreading misinformation from across the border were banned. The government also directed streaming platforms to halt all Pakistani-origin content, including films, series, music, and podcasts.

Soon after, the Ministry of Electronics and IT issued a directive to X (formerly Twitter) to block over 8,000 accounts within India. Known for its strong pro-free speech stance, the Elon Musk-owned platform complied with the order but did so reluctantly.

In a post by X’s Global Government Affairs team, the platform stated that the Indian government had threatened “serious penalties including heavy fines and possible imprisonment of local employees” if it failed to comply. The block order included accounts of global news outlets and prominent users.

Twitter emphasized that it had not received adequate legal justification for the takedowns. While it agreed to withhold access to the specified accounts within India, it criticized the move as censorship and urged affected users to seek legal remedies. Ironically, the government has since banned the account that published this statement.

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