The Indian government issued executive orders to social media platform X “to block over 8,000 accounts in India, subject to potential penalties, including significant fines and imprisonment of the company’s local employees”, X’s global government affairs team has said in a statement.

In a post on X, the organisation said that the orders included demands to block access in India to accounts belonging to international news organisations and prominent X users.

“We did not receive any evidence or justification to block the accounts,” it said, but added that to comply with the orders, X would withhold the specified accounts in India alone.

“We disagree with the Indian government’s demands. Blocking entire accounts is not only unnecessary, it amounts to censorship of existing and future content, and is contrary to the fundamental right of free speech,” the statement said, adding that it was not an easy decision for the organisation.

“However, keeping the platform accessible in India is vital to Indians’ ability to access information,” it said, adding that all users who were impacted by the blocking orders should seek appropriate relief from courts.