India Tightens Internet Controls, Censors Critics, and Expands Surveillance Powers

India’s censorship playbook has become more precise, and that is what makes it so dangerous. Instead of relying only on the blunt force of internet blackouts, Narendra Modi’s government has paired shutdowns, legal threats, content removals and financial pressure to narrow the space for dissent while keeping the network visibly open.

Freedom House rated India “Partly Free” in its 2024 internet freedom assessment, with a score of 50 out of 100, and said the country’s new Telecommunications Act, passed in December 2023, gave the government broad powers to restrict and intercept online communications. The same year, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita replaced the colonial sedition law but still criminalized some online expression on political and social issues. Freedom House said Indian users still risked arrest for posts critical of the government, and that during the 2024 election period authorities ordered the blocking and removal of online content targeting opposition voices, criticism of the government and independent reporting.

The pattern was already visible in Manipur, where Freedom House documented an internet shutdown that lasted more than 208 days in 2023 after ethnic clashes between Meitei and Kuki communities. The state saw further restrictions in 2024. In a country with more than 986 million registered voters in its 2024 general election, even selective censorship can shape what voters see, what journalists can verify and what opposition parties can say.

The pressure was not limited to shutdowns. In March 2024, Freedom House said the Indian National Congress had about 2.1 billion rupees, or $25.3 million, frozen in a tax dispute, a sign of how financial and regulatory tools can be turned against political rivals. Freedom House also said the founder and editor in chief of NewsClick was held in pretrial detention for more than six months on charges tied to the outlet’s editorial stance. The International Commission of Jurists has said about 19,000 Foreign Contribution Regulation Act licenses were canceled between 2014 and 2020, adding another lever to squeeze civil society.

The model has since become more opaque. In May 2025, X said India ordered it to block more than 8,000 accounts, including those belonging to international news organizations, independent journalists and political commentators. X said many orders did not identify the posts that allegedly violated Indian law, and for many accounts no evidence or justification was provided. In July 2025, the Committee to Protect Journalists said X reported that India had ordered the blocking of 2,355 accounts on July 3, and Reuters’ X accounts were briefly blocked before being restored. The Software Freedom Law Centre of India called the practice censorship and warned that blocking without notice or a chance to contest it was neither just nor effective.

That is why India’s approach matters far beyond its borders. Access Now said 2024 was the worst year on record for internet shutdowns, with at least 296 in 54 countries, and its #KeepItOn coalition now spans more than 345 members from 106 countries. India is showing how censorship can evolve from obvious blackouts into a quieter system of pressure, one that blocks specific accounts, chills reporters, and leaves governments with a template other states can reuse.