Introduction

India has restricted access to the Pakistani government's official Twitter account. When someone tries to access the Twitter account of the Pakistani government, a notice that reads "Account Withheld @GovtofPakistan's account has been withheld in India in accordance to a court demand" displays.

In the past six months, the account has twice been withheld in India.

Yet, it is still unknown what caused Indian officials to take action against the official Twitter account of the Pakistani government.

According to a notification on the social media site, the Pakistani government's Twitter account has been restricted from being accessed in India in response to a court request, according to news agency Reuters.

The company's policies are written in a way that they can oblige it to withhold all funds in response to a legitimate legal need, such as a court order.

The @GovtofPakistan account was still accessible from nations like the United States and Canada for viewing and participation. The IT ministries of Twitter, India, and Pakistan have not yet responded.

Also read: India outlaws the Pakistan-based streaming service Vidly TV.

Access was likewise prohibited to the Pakistani government's official Twitter account in October 2022. Eventually, after a July delay, it was resumed.

In June of last year, Twitter in India blocked the official accounts of the Pakistani embassies in Turkey, Iran, Egypt, and the United Nations. In August, India closed eight YouTube news stations, including one from Pakistan and one Facebook account, for posting "false, anti-India material" online.

According to a statement from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the decision was made using the emergency powers granted under the Information Technology Regulations of 2021.

It was found that the banned Indian YouTube channels were using sensationalised and fake thumbnails, images of news anchors, and the logos of certain TV news programmes to deceive users into thinking the video was authentic.

The government bans 6 YouTube news channels for disseminating false information.

The Ministry of Information & Broadcasting arrested six YouTube channels that were operating together and disseminating false information in India in January. The fake news industry includes YouTube channels that have been shut down by the authorities for selling false information.

The Press Information Bureau released a statement claiming that the networks intentionally mislead viewers by using sensational, clickbait, and phoney thumbnails as well as pictures of television news anchors.

Each of the six YouTube channels that were found to be a part of a planned network of disinformation had close to 20 lakh subscribers and more than 51 million video views.

Also read: Twitter Source Code Has Been Partially Posted on GitHub, According to Documents

In the past year, the government has blocked eight YouTube channels for spreading false information about public order, foreign policy, and national security in India. 

One Pakistani news station and seven Indian news channels were among the YouTube channels that were disabled, according to sources.

 The IT Rules, 2021 were used to block YouTube-based news channels for allegedly spreading false information in an effort to mislead viewers.