Anti-establishment X accounts ‘withheld’ in India as takedowns spread

A number of people who post content critical of the government on their X accounts were greeted late on Wednesday (March 18, 2026) evening with an email from the social media platform, telling them that their accounts were now withheld in India. The reason: a takedown order issued by the Union government under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000.

The accounts, many of which are run pseudonymously, posted memes and other content criticising the government in the weeks and months leading up to their handles being censored. The accounts and posts remain visible to X users outside India.

The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF), a Delhi-based digital rights advocacy, called the censorship “alarming,” and said that “independent reporting documented takedowns affecting speech that appears political, satirical, or critical, rather than clearly unlawful.”

‘Dangerous trend’

Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said at a press briefing in Delhi that this censorship was an “extremely dangerous trend.” Ms. Shrinate accused the government of deciding “what is acceptable, what is not acceptable on social media,” adding that “anything critical of the Prime Minister will have to go.”

The accounts targeted include handles that collectively have lakhs of followers, but are mostly run anonymously. The Caravan magazine said that one of its posts, excerpting a story it published, was also taken down under Section 69A, which allows the government to take down online content by sending a notice to the platforms that host it.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) did not respond to questions on the takedowns. Over the last few weeks, several individual posts mocking, criticising and satirising the Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi have also been “withheld” by X and Meta’s Instagram in India, though the government has not directly contacted those who posted this content. None of the deleted posts from this period appear to have been reinstated, even as the IFF said it was helping some users challenge the censorship with the IT Ministry.

Safeguards defeated

“We remind the Union Government that the Supreme Court upheld Section 69A in the Shreya Singhal [v. Union of India] case on the basis of procedural safeguards and written reasons that could be challenged,” IFF said in its statement. “Secret and inaccessible censorship defeats those safeguards in practice. IFF calls on the Union government to halt any move to decentralise Section 69A blocking powers further, publish blocking orders only as per the letter and spirit of the Shreya Singhal judgement, and ensure timely notice to affected users with clear grounds and avenues for remedy.”

This is a reference to reports claiming that the government is considering allowing other Ministries to directly issue takedown orders under Section 69A, instead of routing them through MeitY.

‘India has become North Korea’

Sandeep Singh, an independent content creator whose account was withheld, said, “I am challenging this decision legally, and am doing my best to reclaim my voice.” 

Other creators targeted by takedowns also struck a defiant note. @Nher_who, who has more than 2.4 lakh followers, posted, “If the govt thinks this blocking intimidation can silent [sic] me, they are heavily mistaken. Indians can’t see my post without Vpn [virtual private networks] but the world can and they will know how India has become North Korea.”