Indian caricaturist Satish Acharya faces Instagram restrictions

Indian caricaturist Satish Acharya has experienced his Instagram profile being temporarily blocked in India for the second time in three weeks. The 55-year-old artist reported that his profile became inaccessible to users in India, appearing as though it did not comply with local information technology regulations.

This incident follows similar restrictions faced by other artists, such as caricaturist Manjul, whose posts criticizing the Election Commission of India were restricted. While the Indian government maintains that such regulations are necessary to combat illegal content, artists and free speech advocates express concern that these measures are being used to suppress political satire.

Acharya stated that Meta, the parent company of Instagram, has limited the visibility of his work for several years and has not responded to his inquiries regarding the recent blocks. The restrictions allow authorities and courts to request that social media platforms remove or limit access to specific content under local IT laws.