Samiran Gupta, X (Twitter)'s India policy head resigns
Samiran Gupta, the head of policy for India and South Asia at X (formerly Twitter), has resigned, reported Reuters, citing sources. This comes ahead of India's upcoming 2024 general election and amid the company's court battle with the Centre over content removal. X considers India a major market with approximately 27 million users. Now, Gupta's departure could impact the company's operations in the country during a crucial time.
Gupta's role in X Corp.'s India operations
Gupta joined the company in February 2022, eight months before Elon Musk acquired Twitter Inc. via X Corp. Being the most senior India employee for X, he was also designated as the Head of Global Government Affairs for India and South Asia. Gupta was responsible for key content-related policy issues and defending X's position "with new policy developments while supporting in-country sales organization," per his LinkedIn profile.
Gupta's departure leaves void in X's India team
Gupta's departure is a significant loss for X, as he was the sole executive engaging with India's government, as well as political parties. Moreover, the interaction between X and government officials might intensify during the run-up to polls. A national election is due in India next year. With only around 15 employees left in departments like engineering and compliance, it remains to be seen how Gupta's departure will affect X's operations in India.
X battles Indian court over content removal
Meanwhile, X is currently appealing a Karnataka High Court ruling that the platform failed to comply with the Centre's orders to remove certain content. The company argues that the decision might give the government more confidence to censor more content. New Delhi has charged X with being a "habitual non-compliant platform" and claimed that it disregarded numerous requests to remove content for years, undermining the Centre's role.
