India tells X to follow law of the land following Musk’s decision to go public with removal requests

The Centre said that Elon Musk-owned X will have to “follow the law of the land" after the social media platform introduced a new rule aimed at making government requests to restrict content more visible to users. The government’s response came after Musk on Saturday announced the new algorithm on X, saying that “any censorship required by the governments is now clearly visible". Under the new system, X users will be able to see when a government seeks the removal of a post or asks the platform to impose restrictions on an account.

“X will have to follow the law of the land,” a government official told news agency PTI on Monday, responding to the platform’s move.

Musk said X would clearly identify censorship that governments require the platform to carry out. The proposed changes would allow users to know when authorities have sought the removal of a post or restrictions on an account. X also plans to provide information about the government body behind the request and, where available, the legal grounds cited for the action.

The announcement gives users greater visibility into the role played by governments in content moderation. It also comes at a time when the volume of government directions to social media companies in India has risen sharply.

Musk’s latest announcement is consistent with his long-standing push for greater transparency over content moderation on X, formerly Twitter. Since acquiring the platform, he has argued that users should have more information about restrictions affecting content and accounts.