Meta Complies with the Government’s Request to Ban A Popular Muslim Instagram Page in India During the Conflict Surge -

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Meta Complies with the Government’s Request to Ban A Popular Muslim Instagram Page in India During the Conflict Surge

According to the page’s founder, Meta has blocked access to the Instagram page @Muslim in India at the request of the Indian government, a contentious decision that has provoked online criticism and aroused worries about digital censorship. Discussions over media freedom, religious identity, and political expression in the digital sphere are further fueled by the development, which comes as tensions between India and Pakistan are rising and include military strikes and retaliatory threats.

Founded by Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh, the @Muslim handle has 6.7 million followers and is regarded as one of the most well-known Muslim news pages in the world. Indian users who attempted to view the page on Wednesday were greeted with the following message:

“Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.”

Meta referred questions to its policy page detailing the company’s procedure for addressing government demands alleging content violations of local law, even though it declined to provide a direct remark.

Founder Slams Block as Political Censorship

Ameer Al-Khatahtbeh acknowledged receiving hundreds of messages from fans in India reporting they were unable to access the page in a statement that was published soon after the ban was discovered. He denounced the limitation as an infringement on the right to free speech and the press:

“Meta blocked the @Muslim account at the Indian government’s legal request.” He wrote, “This is censorship.”

“It indicates that we are fulfilling our responsibility to hold those in authority accountable when platforms and nations attempt to stifle the media.”

In addition, Khatahtbeh apologized for the platform’s inaccessibility and vowed to keep “documenting the truth” and “standing firmly for justice” in support of his Indian supporters.

Context: Digital Crackdown Amid Armed Conflict

The @Muslim account was banned during a period of increased military and geopolitical tensions between India and Pakistan, the two opposing nations with nuclear weapons. Following India’s deadly missile strikes, which it says were in retaliation for a terrorist attack on tourists in the Indian-administered sector of Kashmir, the situation has quickly gotten worse. In addition to denying any involvement, Pakistan has threatened to “avenge” individuals killed by Indian attacks.

India has increased its digital restrictions in tandem with the escalation of military confrontations, which have resulted in at least 43 recorded deaths from recent exchanges:

Over a dozen YouTube channels from Pakistan have been suspended for allegedly disseminating “provocative” content.
Top cricket players Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Wasim Akram, singers Atif Aslam and Fawad Khan, and former Prime Minister and cricketer Imran Khan have all had their Instagram pages restricted in India.
Misinformation, deepfakes, and deceptive images that are erroneously linked to ongoing military operations and strikes have deluged social media sites.

In light of this, some have viewed the blocking of the @Muslim Instagram page, which is not directly linked to Pakistani content, as a component of a larger effort to suppress critical or opposing Muslim narratives.

Global Reactions and Concerns Over Free Speech

Important concerns concerning the role of internet platforms in political censorship and the response of businesses like Meta to governmental pressure are brought up by the limitation of a widely popular news website. Critics contend that Meta is allowing the deterioration of free expression under the pretense of compliance, despite the company’s insistence that it only complies with valid legal demands.

US President Donald Trump also responded to the dispute, calling on India and Pakistan to “immediately halt their fighting” and offering to negotiate a settlement.

The @Muslim page is still inaccessible in India, and the increasing demands for reinstatement and transparency have not yet received a response. The Indian government has not provided an official statement or made a court order public.

About The Author:

Yogesh Naager is a content marketer who specializes in the cybersecurity and B2B space. Besides writing for the News4Hackers blogs, he also writes for brands including Craw Security, Bytecode Security, and NASSCOM.