Social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, has found itself at the center of a political storm in India following the introduction of its new location feature. The tool, designed to promote authenticity and transparency on the platform, has instead triggered significant political controversy across the country.
The Controversial Location Feature
X launched the new location feature with the stated goal of creating a more genuine and transparent user experience. The platform announced that this innovation would help users understand the geographical context of posts and potentially reduce the spread of misinformation by providing location data.
The feature became active in late November 2025, with the platform confirming its rollout on November 28, 2025. While the company positioned this as a step toward digital authenticity, the implementation immediately raised concerns among Indian political parties and users.
Political Backlash in India
In India, the location feature quickly became a political flashpoint. Both major political parties - the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Indian National Congress - expressed concerns about how the feature could be misused or could expose their digital campaign strategies.
The controversy isn't unique to India. X's transparency feature has faced political resistance in multiple countries where it has been introduced. However, the intensity of the debate in India highlights the increasingly complex relationship between social media platforms and political operations in the world's largest democracy.
Broader Implications for Indian Politics
The political row over X's location feature reflects larger concerns about digital privacy, political campaigning, and social media regulation in India. Political parties have become increasingly reliant on social media platforms for outreach and campaigning, making any changes to these platforms potentially disruptive to their strategies.
As the debate continues, all eyes are on how X will respond to the political pressure and whether modifications to the feature will be implemented specifically for the Indian market. The outcome could set important precedents for how global social media platforms balance transparency initiatives with local political sensitivities.
The situation remains fluid, with political parties, digital rights activists, and platform representatives likely to continue discussions about the appropriate balance between transparency and privacy in the digital political sphere.
