Government's intervention results in the reinstatement of Reuters' Twitter account in India
In an unexpected turn of events, the official Twitter accounts of global news agency Reuters, including @Reuters and @ReutersWorld, were blocked in India for nearly 24 hours starting around July 5-6, 2025. Users in India attempting to access these accounts saw a message that the accounts "have been withheld in IN (India) in response to a legal demand."
However, the Indian government denied issuing any current legal order to block Reuters' accounts and stated it was working with Twitter to resolve the issue promptly. The government maintains that it has made no new directive to withhold Reuters' accounts and has asked Twitter to explain why the accounts were blocked and to lift the restriction soon.
The blocking appears to be related to an older legal demand issued during "Operation Sindoor" in May 2025, when a large number of social media accounts were asked to be blocked by some request. While many accounts were instantly blocked then, Reuters' accounts were initially not affected. Twitter later enforced the older order and withheld Reuters' accounts, which the government says was a mistake given the demand is no longer relevant.
No specific Indian agency or government body has been officially named as having made the blocking demand. The government maintains that it has made no new directive to withhold Reuters' accounts and has asked Twitter to explain why the accounts were blocked and to lift the restriction soon.
The incident reflects ongoing tensions between Twitter and the Indian government over content moderation and censorship demands on social media platforms. Reuters is working with Twitter to restore the accounts promptly.
For clarification, the government of India stated that there is no current requirement to withhold the Global Times News or TRT World handle on Twitter. Interestingly, while many accounts were blocked during Operation Sindoor, the Reuters' handle was not. However, the official accounts of Global Times and TRT World on Twitter were blocked again, citing a legal demand.
In summary:
- Reuters' Twitter accounts were blocked in India for nearly 24 hours. - The reason shown by Twitter was "Legal demand." - The actual current government stance is that it denies any current legal order and considers it a mistake. - The origin of the demand was an older order from May 2025 (Operation Sindoor). - The specific agency or government body that made the demand is not officially disclosed; the government denies making a new request.
The incident underscores the ongoing tensions between Twitter and the Indian government over content moderation and censorship demands on social media platforms. Reuters is working with Twitter to restore the accounts promptly.
In the ongoing saga of policy-and-legislation battles between Twitter and the Indian government, an unexpected 24-hour block on Reuters' Twitter accounts occurred in July 2025, ostensibly due to a legal demand. However, the Indian government denies issuing a new order and claims it was a mistake, attributing the block to an older demand from May 2025's Operation Sindoor, which also saw politics surrounding content moderation and censorship on social media platforms.
