Key facts
- Delhi Police asked X to remove the accounts of the Internet Freedom Foundation and SFLC.in, per a copy of directives IFF posted.
- The directives alleged the groups' posts about an October 29 legal notice in the RSS's name defamed the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.
- Amnesty said in a post on X: "Those who expose censorship must not become its targets."
- IFF said it would challenge the requests in court unless they were withdrawn; SFLC.in called the requests unlawful and disproportionate.
- India, which has more than 1.1 billion internet subscribers, says its platform directives target unlawful or misleading content.
Two of India's most prominent digital rights and free speech groups said Delhi Police asked X to remove their accounts, accusing them of defaming the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the Hindu nationalist group from which Prime Minister Narendra Modi's ruling party emerged.
The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and India's Software Freedom Law Center, known as SFLC.in, were named in notices the Delhi Police, which is controlled by the federal government, sent to the platform, according to a copy of the directives that IFF posted on X on Tuesday. Reuters could not independently verify the directives. X, the RSS and Delhi Police did not respond to requests for comment.
The orders referred to posts by the groups about a purported October 29 legal notice they received in the name of the RSS, calling for the groups to stop opposing the government's content-blocking directives. "Posts are defamatory towards the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh," read one order signed by Delhi Police special commissioner (crime) Hargobinder Singh Dhaliwal.
IFF said it would challenge the requests in court unless they were withdrawn, while SFLC.in described the requests as unlawful and disproportionate. Amnesty said in a post on X: "Those who expose censorship must not become its targets." Both accounts were still active on X on Wednesday afternoon.
Free-speech activists and opposition politicians, including from the Congress party, say the move is a way to curb dissent in India, which has more than 1.1 billion internet subscribers. India says its directives to platforms target unlawful or misleading content and respect lawful expression. The IFF and SFLC.in use their X accounts to publicise blocking orders, including recent restrictions on accounts and posts related to anti-government protests, and their legal challenges to them.