India blocked more than 36,000 URLs on social media, most requests sent to Musk’s X

In a major crackdown on social media content, the Indian government has blocked access to over 36,000 URLs across various platforms. IT Minister Rajeev Chandrashekhar confirmed the action, highlighting that the majority of these requests were sent to Elon Musk’s X.

“The government issues lawful directions for blocking for access of information by public under section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 which provides power to government to issue such directions if it is necessary or expedient to do so in the interest of sovereignty and integrity, defence of India, security of the State, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for inciting cognizable offence relating to above,” IT minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar informed in a written response to CPI(M)’s John Brittas.

The figures were presented to the opposition leader upon requesting information on orders from the government directing social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, to block or remove posts, accounts, or hashtags.

The data shared by Chadrashekhar reveals that between 2018 and October 2023, Elon Musk-owned X (formerly Twitter) received the highest number of blocking orders (13,660) from the government.

Facebook received 10,197 orders, Instagram was instructed to remove 3,023 URLs, YouTube received 5,759 orders, and other social media intermediaries got 4,199 orders during the same period.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued these orders, with the aim of ensuring an open, safe, trusted, and accountable internet environment in India. The number of URLs blocked varied each year, with the maximum in 2020 at 9,849.