The X (formerly Twitter) accounts of international media outlets Reuters, TRT World, and Global Times were restored in India on Sunday evening, a day after they were briefly inaccessible to users in the country.
Earlier in the day, confusion arose when users attempting to access these handles were met with the message, “Account withheld in IN in response to a legal demand.” The incident triggered speculation regarding government involvement.
However, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) clarified that the Government of India had not issued any directive to withhold the Reuters account and was actively coordinating with X to resolve the issue.
“There is no requirement from the Government of India to withhold the Reuters handle. We are continuously working with X to resolve the problem,” an official spokesperson from MeitY said.
The X handles of Turkey’s TRT World and China’s Global Times also displayed the same message during the disruption.
According to X’s help center, such withholding actions typically occur in response to valid legal demands, including court orders or country-specific laws. The platform stated that when an account is withheld, it is due to legal requirements received via official reporting channels.
All three accounts have since been made accessible again in India.