FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: media@sikhcoalition.org
Sikh Coalition Statement on ‘Notice of Withholding’ from X and Indian Government Censorship
February 22, 2024 (New York, NY) — This morning, the Sikh Coalition received a ‘notice of withholding’ from social media company X. The notice explains that “X has received a legal removal demand from the Government of India” alleging that one of our posts related to the ongoing Farmers’ Protest in India “violates India’s Information Technology Act, 2000.” As per X’s policy, the post in question is currently censored in India.
In response, the Sikh Coalition issued the following statement:
“We are disappointed that X continues to indulge the Indian government by restricting content from individuals, organizations, and media outlets who are committed to sharing information around the Farmers’ Protest. Three years ago this month, we spoke out when X (then Twitter) engaged in mass suspensions of accounts at Delhi’s request during the Protest’s previous iteration.”
“The post in question simply highlights a letter, sent from the Sikh Coalition to President Biden on February 15, asking his administration to prioritize a robust, values-based response to the situation in India. All of the details contained within that letter are a matter of public reporting. What’s more, no amount of censorship makes the Indian government’s draconian actions—in the past two weeks or during the 2020-2021 Protest—any more defensible or less offensive to basic democratic values.”
“Like countless other voices from the global Sikh diaspora and other groups who face routine marginalization by the Indian government, the Sikh Coalition will not stop our advocacy in defense of human rights.”
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View the censored post here, and our letter to President Biden here. For more information about the Sikh Coalition’s work, please contact media@sikhcoalition.org.
