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X Will Label Government Takedown Requests

The policy is meant to show which agencies ordered government-mandated removals and cite legal grounds when available so users can see state intervention without changing X’s legal duties.

Overview

  • X announced the change on Saturday, saying posts or account restrictions ordered by governments will be flagged to users as government‑mandated actions.
  • The platform plans to name the requesting agency and display the legal basis or reasoning when that information is available.
  • Legal and operational limits will curb disclosure in some places, for example India’s Rule 16 requires confidentiality of blocking requests and may block X from naming Indian orders.
  • The move builds on X’s recent release of parts of its recommendation code and an “Under the Hood” tool that shows visibility labels but does not publish all internal rules or weights.
  • Observers note the labels increase public visibility and could pressure governments, but they do not obligate X to refuse orders and the company has historically complied with a high share of takedown requests.