X accounts posting content critical of govt. ‘withheld’

20 MARCH 2026

A number of people who post content critical of the government on their X accounts were greeted with an email from the social media platform, telling them that their accounts were now withheld in India.
The reason: a takedown order issued by the Union government under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The accounts, many of which are run under pseudonyms, posted memes and other content criticising the government in the weeks and months leading up to their handles being censored.
The accounts and posts remain visible to X users outside India.
The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), a Delhi-based digital rights advocacy, called the censorship “alarming,” and said that “independent reporting documented takedowns affecting speech that appears political, satirical, or critical, rather than clearly unlawful”.
The accounts targeted include handles that collectively have lakhs of followers, but are mostly run anonymously.
The IFF, in a statement, called on the “Union government to halt any move to decentralise Section 69A blocking powers further, publish blocking orders only as per the letter and spirit of the Shreya Singhal judgement, and ensure timely notice to affected users with clear grounds and avenues for remedy”.