New Delhi: Between 2018 and October 2023, the Union government issued orders to take down 36,838 social media posts. The lion’s share of the blocked URLs relates to X (formerly, Twitter), as a total of 13,660 posts were taken down, the government told parliament on Friday, December 8.
The information was disclosed by the government in response to questions raised by Rajya Sabha MP John Brittas of the CPI (M). Most posts/URLs (9,849) were taken down in 2020, the year when the COVID-19 pandemic broke out.
The Rajya Sabha MP, representing Kerala, sought to know from the government the number and details of directions/orders issued by the government during the last five years, under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and Rules made thereunder, directing intermediaries and digital media to delete, modify or block any content, information, data or communication link.
He also sought information year-wise and organisation-wise; and the number and details of directions/orders issued by the government during the last five years directing the social media platforms, including Twitter and Facebook, to block or remove posts, entire accounts, or topic hashtags.
In response, the government said, “The policies of the government are aimed at ensuring that the internet in India is open, safe, trusted, and accountable to all users. Accordingly, the government issues lawful directions for blocking access to information by the public under Section 69A of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 which provides power to the government to issue such directions if it is necessary or expedient to do so in the interest of sovereignty and integrity, defence of India, security of the state, friendly relations with foreign States or public order or for inciting cognisable offence relating to above.”
While most blocked posts relate to X (13,660), it is followed by Facebook (10,197), YouTube (5,759), Others (4,199), and Instagram (3,023).
As The Wire reported earlier, after Elon Musk took over, X Corp has been significantly more compliant with government orders for censorship or surveillance, including from India, going against Musk’s promise of ushering in a new era of free speech and disallowing political interference on social media. For instance, between October 27, 2022, and April 27, 2023, India made 50 requests which was the third-highest in the world. Before Musk took over, the situation had been largely different, X-Corp (Twitter then) contested the Indian government’s takedown orders legally.
Below is the year-wise and platform-wise breakdown of blocked posts/URLs: 
