Musk says X shows government censorship but India blocks stay secret

Elon Musk said on X that government censorship requests are now clearly visible on the platform, as the company released open-source code for a filter built for Brazil's 2026 election. But India's blocking orders under Section 69A of the IT Act remain secret because Rule 16 of the IT Rules, 2009 mandates strict confidentiality. No India filter exists in the public repository, and revealing that an account was withheld under an Indian order would breach the law.

The Union government told PTI that X will have to follow the law of the land. X has challenged the government's Sahyog portal, which automates takedown notices, calling it a censorship portal. The Karnataka High Court dismissed X's petition in September 2025, but the Supreme Court has stayed all high court challenges and may decide the constitutional question itself.

MediaNama reports that multiple X accounts critical of the government were withheld under Section 69A in March 2025, and the government has proposed extending blocking powers to ministries including Defence, Home Affairs and External Affairs, bypassing the current requirement to route orders through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.