So where is the promised freedom of speech, Elon Musk?
Social platform X (formerly known as Twitter) announced the suspension of a number of accounts in India, despite the fact that earlier Elon Musk repeatedly stated that he bought the social network precisely to ensure the full implementation of democracy and freedom of speech there.
The decision to block it was made after receiving executive orders from the Indian government, which threatened to oblige the platform to pay significant fines and even initiate criminal prosecution of X employees for insubordination.
In a statement released on Thursday, the X Global Government Affairs team stressed that despite complying with the orders, it disagrees with these actions and stands for freedom of expression related to blocked publications. The platform also informed about its intention to appeal the order and notified the affected users about what was happening.
"Due to legal restrictions, we cannot publish government orders, but we believe that their publication is necessary to ensure transparency. Such non-disclosure of information can lead to a lack of accountability and arbitrary decision-making," X's representatives said.
The reason for the actions of the Indian government was the ongoing protests of farmers, who demand that the authorities establish guaranteed minimum prices for agricultural products. The government seeks to limit subsidies in favor of free market efficiency, while farmers insist on their demands.
The protests caused by this cause have repeatedly led to serious riots in major cities of India.
Local media report that X is far from the only social platform that has faced blocking requirements. Orders to temporarily block 177 accounts linked to the farmers protests also affected Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. These blockages are introduced ostensibly in order to maintain public order.
Among the blocked accounts are accounts directly linked to the farmers movement, as well as pages of politicians, as well as prominent representatives of the Sikh movement who support the protests.
The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), a non-profit organization, said there is a link between social media blockages and local Internet outages in India in an attempt to quell the protests.
It is noted that India has a leading position in the number of government Internet outages, which only highlights the abuse of power by the government to restrict communications and suppress dissident opinions.
According to Access Now, India experienced 84 cases of such outages in 2022, which is about 45% of the global total.
The Government of India justifies some of these actions with the need to prevent mass protests, which can pose a threat to both the participants of the actions and the public at large. But despite this, such measures raise serious questions about the state of the democratic space in the country and the right of citizens to freedom of expression.
Social platform X (formerly known as Twitter) announced the suspension of a number of accounts in India, despite the fact that earlier Elon Musk repeatedly stated that he bought the social network precisely to ensure the full implementation of democracy and freedom of speech there.
The decision to block it was made after receiving executive orders from the Indian government, which threatened to oblige the platform to pay significant fines and even initiate criminal prosecution of X employees for insubordination.
In a statement released on Thursday, the X Global Government Affairs team stressed that despite complying with the orders, it disagrees with these actions and stands for freedom of expression related to blocked publications. The platform also informed about its intention to appeal the order and notified the affected users about what was happening.
"Due to legal restrictions, we cannot publish government orders, but we believe that their publication is necessary to ensure transparency. Such non-disclosure of information can lead to a lack of accountability and arbitrary decision-making," X's representatives said.
The reason for the actions of the Indian government was the ongoing protests of farmers, who demand that the authorities establish guaranteed minimum prices for agricultural products. The government seeks to limit subsidies in favor of free market efficiency, while farmers insist on their demands.
The protests caused by this cause have repeatedly led to serious riots in major cities of India.
Local media report that X is far from the only social platform that has faced blocking requirements. Orders to temporarily block 177 accounts linked to the farmers protests also affected Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat. These blockages are introduced ostensibly in order to maintain public order.
Among the blocked accounts are accounts directly linked to the farmers movement, as well as pages of politicians, as well as prominent representatives of the Sikh movement who support the protests.
The Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), a non-profit organization, said there is a link between social media blockages and local Internet outages in India in an attempt to quell the protests.
It is noted that India has a leading position in the number of government Internet outages, which only highlights the abuse of power by the government to restrict communications and suppress dissident opinions.
According to Access Now, India experienced 84 cases of such outages in 2022, which is about 45% of the global total.
The Government of India justifies some of these actions with the need to prevent mass protests, which can pose a threat to both the participants of the actions and the public at large. But despite this, such measures raise serious questions about the state of the democratic space in the country and the right of citizens to freedom of expression.
