X Denies Fake Police Orders to Block Indian Free Speech Groups’ Accounts

NEW DELHI: Social media platform X (formerly Twitter) has declared that police orders demanding the removal of accounts belonging to two prominent Indian free speech organizations were fraudulent. This revelation came during a court hearing on Friday, following widespread public outrage over the alleged content removal requests.

The purported orders, which were submitted through X’s online reporting mechanism under the name of a senior officer from the Delhi police, sought to block the accounts of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and the Software Freedom Law Centre (SCLC). The requests claimed that these organizations had defamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a Hindu nationalist group closely associated with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party.

“It turns out this was somebody playing an impostor, somebody impersonating Delhi police who has sent this,” stated a lawyer representing X in the Delhi High Court, emphasizing that the company had conducted an internal investigation to verify the authenticity of the orders. The Delhi police have yet to respond to inquiries regarding the incident.

This incident underscores ongoing concerns among free-speech advocates who argue that India’s stringent content removal regulations are increasingly being used to suppress dissent in the world’s most populous nation. With over 1.1 billion internet users, the implications of such actions could significantly impact public discourse and the freedom of expression in India.

As the situation develops, it remains to be seen how the Delhi police will address the impersonation issue and whether further investigations will be launched to prevent similar occurrences in the future.