The Indian government had earlier this month directed X to block 2,355 accounts, including two handles of news agency Reuters, in the country, the social media platform stated on Tuesday.

Hours later, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology stated that it had not “issued any fresh blocking order” and “has no intention to block any prominent international news channels, including Reuters and Reuters World”, reported ANI.

According to X, the ministry issued the blocking order on July 3 and demanded “immediate action, within one hour”, the platform said. “Non-compliance risked criminal liability.”

X blocked the accounts of Reuters on the evening of July 5.

“After public outcry, the government requested X to unblock @Reuters and @ReutersWorld,” said the platform’s Global Government Affairs handle.

It added: “We are deeply concerned about ongoing press censorship in India due to these blocking orders. X is exploring all legal options available.”

On its part, the ministry stated that it had written to X “the moment Reuters and Reuters World were blocked in India”, reported ANI.

“The government continuously engaged and vigorously pursued with ‘X’ from the late night of 5th July 2025,” added the ministry.

It accused the social media platform of “unnecessarily exploiting” the technicalities involved in the process and not unblocking the handles. According to the ministry, X removed the restrictions from Reuters’ handles after 9 pm on July 6.

The billionaire Elon Musk-led social media platform stated on Tuesday that it was limited by India’s law in its ability to legally challenge orders to block accounts.

“We urge affected users to pursue legal remedies through the courts,” it added.

On May 9, a post by the Global Government Affairs handle, which said that X had started blocking more than 8,000 accounts in India after receiving orders from the Union government, was “withheld” in the country.

This had come amid escalating tensions between India and Pakistan after the terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir’s Pahalgam on April 22.

X had said that it would withhold the specified accounts in India alone to comply with the orders.

“However, we disagree with the Indian government’s demands,” the platform had said. “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.”

Also Read: Why India’s censorship of news media online without stating reasons is unlawful