Instagram restricts Khurpench account in India citing IT regulations

On October 25, Instagram restricted access to the Khurpench account for users in India, citing legal requirements under the country’s 2021 Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules. The account, which has approximately 292,000 followers, is now inaccessible within the region.

The Khurpench account, known for investigating civil service recruitment and government irregularities, criticized Meta for suppressing speech. The account holder alleged that videos were removed without notice and stated that the company provided no support after the account restriction. The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) suggested that such actions likely stem from automated filtering systems implemented by Meta under government pressure, which lack transparency for users.

This restriction reflects a broader trend of increased state-directed content removal in India. Recent reports indicate that Meta has integrated its platform systems with the government's 'Sahyog' portal, allowing for the automated removal of flagged content without individual human review. Legislative amendments from February 2026 now mandate that social media intermediaries must remove prohibited content within three hours of receiving a government or judicial directive.

This follows similar incidents, such as the restriction of political cartoonist Satish Acharya earlier this year, involving claims of automated takedowns. Industry data suggests that nearly 200,000 takedown orders were issued to major social media platforms between March and July 2026.