NEW DELHI: The official X (formerly Twitter) account of global news agency Reuters has been restricted in India after a legal request, according to a notification displayed on the platform. The reason for the restriction remains unclear, with Reuters yet to issue an official statement.
As of late Saturday night, users attempting to access the @Reuters handle in India were met with a message stating: “@Reuters has been withheld in IN in response to a legal demand,”.
The restriction also appears to affect the @ReutersWorld account, which was still inaccessible at 11:40 PM IST. However, several other affiliated accounts — including Reuters Tech News, Reuters Fact Check, Reuters Pictures, Reuters Asia, and Reuters China — remain accessible within the country.
Reuters, the news division of Thomson Reuters, employs approximately 2,600 journalists operating across more than 200 locations worldwide.
Platform X has a policy of complying with local laws in various jurisdictions. In a general statement regarding such restrictions, the company explains:
“In our continuing effort to make our services available to people everywhere, if we receive a valid and properly scoped request from an authorized entity, it may be necessary to withhold access to certain content in a particular country from time to time.”
According to X’s guidelines, content can be restricted when a valid legal order or court directive is issued, with such actions limited to the jurisdiction in which the order was made or where content violates local laws.
At present, the specific nature of the legal order that prompted the account restriction in India remains undisclosed.
