Social media platform X, owned by Elon Musk, recently complied with orders from the Election Commission of India to withhold certain political posts made by elected politicians, parties, and candidates for the duration of the election period.
Despite complying, X expressed disagreement with the orders, advocating for freedom of expression for such content.
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X published the takedown orders for transparency, urging the Election Commission to do the same.
The Election Commission cited a violation of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC) in its takedown requests.
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These requests targeted posts by Telugu Desam Party president N Chandrababu Naidu, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the YSRCP, and Bihar Deputy Chief Minister and state BJP president Samrat Choudhary.
Notable among the removed posts were AAP’s comment linking the arrest of a pharmaceutical director to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Choudhary’s allegation against Lalu Prasad Yadav, and Naidu’s claim about drug issues in Andhra Pradesh.
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Despite the disagreement, X complied with the EC’s orders, reflecting the ongoing tension between freedom of expression and electoral regulation in the digital age.
