00:00But I want to quickly dip into news break that is just about coming in.
00:04All right, the latest news break is pitching a government versus Twitter battle once again.
00:10The government of India versus social media platform X once again.
00:16An eyeball to eyeball confrontation practically.
00:18X says government had ordered blocking of Reuters and over 2,000 handles
00:23and expressed concerns over press freedom and freedom of expression in India.
00:29The government's statement on X censorship claim says the government has not issued any fresh blocking orders on 3 July 2025
00:38and has no intentions to block any prominent international news channel including Reuters and Reuters World.
00:45The moment Reuters and Reuters World were blocked on X platform in India,
00:49immediately the government wrote to X to unblock them.
00:52The government continuously engaged and vigorously pursued with X from late 9 to 5 July 2025.
00:59X has necessarily exploited, unnecessarily exploited technicalities involved around the process and did not unblock the URLs.
01:08However, after a lot of follow-ups on hourly basis, X has finally unblocked Reuters and other URLs after 9 p.m. on 6 July 2025.
01:18They took more than 20 hours to unblock Reuters.
01:22Earlier on, I just want to take you back in the controversy, viewers.
01:24The social media platform X had said on July 3rd, 2025, the Indian government ordered X to block 2,355 accounts in India,
01:35including international news outlets like Reuters and Reuters World under Section 69A of the new IT Act.
01:43Non-compliance risked criminal liability.
01:47The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had demanded immediate action within one hour without providing justification
01:55and required the accounts to remain unblocked, to remain blocked until further notice.
02:03After public outcry, the government of India requested X then to unblock Reuters and Reuters World.
02:09We are deeply concerned about the ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders.
02:16This was the social media post that X made a short while back.
02:20Let me, all of these viewers would need to be read in context of the IT Act and Aishwarya Paliwal is going to weigh in more on that.
02:28Aishwarya, would you give our viewers context?
02:31Well, let me tell you one thing, Preeti.
02:34We have seen how the government has time and again asked X, not just X, even YouTube and other social media platforms to take down content that they believe is not correct.
02:42But with regards to Reuters, we have seen that no such content was posted because of which it is what the government is saying is exactly something that has happened.
02:50They are saying that he did not give out any orders.
02:52In fact, there was a technicality, a technical glitch.
02:54And that is what we also saw on that day also.
02:57Immediately after it was flagged off to the government that the Reuters handle is being blocked in India, they had reached out late at night at about 12.
03:05They had reached out to X and told them that because of some technicality, Reuters is not available in India.
03:10Now, X has come out and said that they are now looking at all the legal options available.
03:14We'll have to see whether X drags the government of India and Mighty, that's the ministry that looks at social media platforms, whether X will be dragging them to the court.
03:21But now we are seeing one statement.
03:23The first time that the social media platform X and the government of India are butting heads on this.
03:29What is interesting is what seems to be at least a first that X has elucidated that not just Reuters world, over 2200 accounts were asked by the government to by the government of India to be blocked.
03:43And only two hours time was given for the same where action, legal action would be pursued otherwise.
03:51So, it's a very strong statement coming in from the social media platform X.
03:56The government has, of course, given its response.
03:59But all of this, Aishwarya, will also need to be read in the context of the IT Act.
04:05When we speak about the IT Act, it gives the government the leeway that the government has the right if they come across some kind of content which they read and they think is not in the favor of our country, can lead to security breach.
04:19Then that gives government the handle that they can actually write to social media platforms.
04:24We have seen the government looking at Rule 69.
04:27That is the most crucial rule in the IT Act.
04:29The government often invokes the Rule 69 Act.
04:32The Rule 69.
04:34And with regards to that, the request is sent to social media platforms.
04:36So, let me also tell you, PT, the number that X has given on a daily basis.
04:40There is something or the other that the government speaks to X about because there are these kind of handles, you have also seen, coming out and putting out information which is not correct.
04:48Untrue information is something that the government flags off.
04:50That's what the government is saying in this statement also.
04:53Are we looking at this battle only intensifying now?
04:56Oh, yes, definitely, because the government has been very, very swift, PT, in coming out and giving a response.
05:04Whether it will be X that will take the government to court, then what we will see the government extensively pointing towards is the Rule 69.
05:11That's something that the government will be speaking about.
05:13And it's not just in India.
05:14Across the world, we have seen how the government, they have these kind of rules which will give them the advantage of asking social media platforms to take down content that the government believes is not correct for the citizens.
05:25So that's exactly what X also said, that the law is stringent and they're trying to explore legal options on how to pursue it.
05:33But X has come out with a strong statement suggesting that the government of India is trying to curb freedom of expression.
05:40Of course, India now turning out and giving a befitting response, suggesting very clearly that they had no idea that there were certain handles like Reuters and Reuters World that were blocked.