Satish Acharya's Instagram Blocked in India Again

Indian cartoonist Satish Acharya found his Instagram account blocked in his home country for the second time in three weeks on Tuesday. The 55-year-old artist reported that users in India could not search for his profile or access it via a direct link for three days. He stated that the platform gave no specific reason for the restriction.

This incident follows a similar event involving fellow cartoonist Manjul a few weeks ago. Instagram restricted one of Manjul's posts, which criticized the election commission's controversial revision of voter rolls. While Manjul's profile remained accessible, the post itself was limited. Both cases have raised questions about how legal orders are used to curb political satire.

Acharya's first restriction lasted from September 28 to October 6. During that period, anyone trying to view his profile saw a message stating it was unavailable under India's Information Technology Rules. These rules allow authorities and courts to order platforms to remove or restrict content. The government maintains these measures help control unlawful material, though free-speech advocates argue they limit the tradition of political humor.

Acharya told the BBC that Meta has restricted the reach of his cartoons for several years. He noted that he was preparing to go to court when his account was restored in early October, only to be blocked again earlier this week. He wrote to Meta, the parent company of Instagram, but did not receive a reply regarding the specific reasons for the blocks.

In a statement to the BBC, Meta said it may temporarily restrict accounts to comply with India's IT Rules. The company did not explain the specific details behind Acharya's account block or Manjul's post restriction. Critics argue these actions occur as satire plays a larger role in political dissent, particularly among younger citizens.

Recent protests over education and jobs in July were fueled in part by memes and online humor, leading to the resignation of the education minister. Public debate has also grown over a voter roll revision that removed 130 million names. The Indian Express reported that government agencies sent nearly 195,000 blocking and content-restriction orders to platforms between March and July through the federal Sahyog portal.

Technology policy expert Prateek Waghre noted that Meta appears more willing to comply with these legal orders compared to other platforms like X. He added that limited public data makes it difficult to compare compliance levels across different companies. Meta declined to comment on Waghre's assessment.

Cartoonists say the reliance on social media creates a new vulnerability. Manjul, who works independently of newspapers, said the freedom to draw comes with the risk of platform dependence. Rachita Taneja, creator of the Sanitary Panels comic, described social media as a double-edged sword, noting that it is a for-profit endeavor that answers to advertisers rather than users.