Massive crackdown: Elon Musk's 'X' bans over 2 lakh accounts in India for explicit content

By Team Asianet Newsable  |  First Published Feb 17, 2024, 1:09 PM IST

Between December 26 and January 25, Elon Musk's 'X' banned a staggering 2,31,215 accounts across the country, primarily targeting the dissemination of child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity.


In a sweeping crackdown on digital misconduct, X Corp, led by Elon Musk, has taken decisive action against online abuse, terrorism promotion, and explicit content on its micro-blogging platform in India. Between December 26 and January 25, X Corp banned a staggering 2,31,215 accounts across the country, primarily targeting the dissemination of child sexual exploitation and non-consensual nudity.

The stringent measures also encompassed the removal of 1,945 accounts involved in promoting terrorism, amplifying X Corp's resolve to combat extremist ideologies within its digital ecosystem.

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In total, X Corp enforced the suspension of 2,33,160 accounts during the specified reporting period, illustrating the magnitude of the platform's efforts to uphold regulatory compliance and user safety. As part of its obligations under the new IT Rules, 2021, X Corp diligently addressed 2,525 user complaints from India, underscoring its commitment to transparent and responsive grievance redressal mechanisms.

Furthermore, the platform processed 40 grievances related to account suspensions, reaffirming its dedication to fair and judicious content moderation practices. "We overturned 9 of these account suspensions after reviewing the specifics of the situation. The remaining reported accounts remain suspended," said the company.

Despite these commendable efforts, challenges persist, as evidenced by the 19 requests for general account-related inquiries received during the reporting period.

The majority of complaints originating from India predominantly focused on issues related to ban evasion, with 967 instances reported. Following closely behind were grievances concerning abuse and harassment, which accounted for 684 complaints. Additionally, concerns regarding sensitive adult content were raised, with 363 instances reported, while 313 complaints pertained to hateful conduct.

This latest crackdown builds upon previous enforcement actions, with X Corp having banned 2,27,600 accounts in India between November 26 and December 25. During this period, 2,032 accounts were also removed for promoting terrorism.

Meanwhile, a report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) has shed light on concerning revelations regarding premium services provided by X Corp to accounts associated with US-designated terrorist groups and sanctioned organizations. The report identified several verified accounts with a blue checkmark, indicative of premium subscriptions, belonging to entities subject to government sanctions.

 

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