Reuters, TRT World, Global Times X Accounts Restored in India After Brief Block

The X accounts of three international media outlets—UK-based Reuters, Turkey's TRT World, and China's Global Times—were restored in India late Sunday evening, following a day-long inaccessibility that sparked widespread confusion.

Earlier in the day, users in India attempting to visit the accounts were met with a message stating that the handles had been "withheld in India in response to a legal demand." The issue drew attention after the Reuters account, in particular, became inaccessible in the country without a clear explanation.

However, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) clarified that the Government of India had not issued any directive to restrict access to the Reuters X handle. "There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold the Reuters handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem," a ministry spokesperson said.

Following this clarification, the accounts of Reuters, TRT World, and Global Times were restored for Indian users later in the evening.

The Elon Musk-owned platform, X, explains on its help centre that such "withheld" notices are displayed when the platform is required to restrict access to specific accounts or content based on valid legal requests or compliance with local laws. These actions typically follow formal reports submitted through the company’s legal or government channels.

The exact cause behind the temporary restrictions remains unclear, but the swift response from both the Indian government and the platform ensured that normal access was resumed by the end of the day.

Also Read: Another Top Russian Executive Found Dead Amid Series of Suspicious Deaths