Instagram blocks ‘Stop Vizag Data Centers’ account for users in India

Participants in an awareness walk organised by Green Visakha on the potential impacts of AI data centres speak with police personnel along Beach Road in Visakhapatnam on Sunday. | Photo Credit: V. Raju The Instagram account of the citizen-led ‘Stop Vizag Data Centers’ campaign has been restricted in India. It is unavailable to users in the country but can be viewed from other countries, representatives of the movement said, alleging that the restriction was imposed without any prior communication to them.The movement has since announced a backup Instagram account to continue posting.A message displayed on the restricted account says: “We temporarily restricted access to this account pursuant to legal requirements under India’s Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules.” What Instagram users in India see on opening the same account; a notice that access has been restricted under India’s Information Technology Rules. | Photo Credit: Screengrab Nine posts had been restricted in India in the weeks before the account itself was blocked, the representatives said. The account had drawn more than 56 lakh views and 11,800 followers in two months. The movement has raised concerns over the development of AI data centres in and around Visakhapatnam, citing what it describes as a lack of transparency and the social and ecological costs of such projects. The ‘Stop Vizag Data Centers’ account, viewed through a VPN from outside India: 88 posts, 11,800 followers and a note directing users to the campaign’s new account. | Photo Credit: Screengrab The representatives alleged that content critical of the AI data centres posted by various organisations and through personal accounts had also been restricted. The representatives said the account-level restriction was the first such action against it and demanded that Meta restore the account.Google and the State government laid the foundation stone for the Google Cloud India AI Hub in Visakhapatnam on April 28, part of a digital infrastructure push in the city expected to draw investment of ₹1.25 lakh crore; the hub’s expected power demand is 1 GW. In May, a reel by two independent journalists on the proposed Google data centre at Tarluvada village was blocked in India under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act; the Delhi High Court in July had the blocking order furnished to them, according to the Internet Freedom Foundation, which represented them.Pragathi, an engineering student, attended a public awareness programme on Beach Road in Visakhapatnam on Sunday (September 20, 2026) on the potential impact of large-scale AI data centres on water resources, electricity demand and local temperatures. She said: “After we created the ‘Stop Vizag Data Centers’ page to raise the voice of the people, our account was banned on Saturday (September 19) and all our reels were removed. If the Google data centre has genuine advantages, why is the government unable to answer the people’s questions? Why is it trying to silence our voices? We will continue to stand up for the people of Vizag and oppose the data centre project. We want justice.”The event was conducted by Green Visakha, an environmental NGO with participation from student organisation. The organisation represetatives said the programme was aimed at creating public awareness about the responsible and sustainable use of natural resources and the potential impact of such projects on the ecosystem and biodiversity.“Today (Sunday), we held a demonstration against the rapid expansion of data centres. We also conducted an awareness campaign by distributing pamphlets and speaking to people about the potential environmental and other impacts of such projects. We had over 11,000 followers, more than 56 lakh views and good engagement, besides a network of volunteers. By repeatedly taking down our posts, our content is being restricted and our dissent is being curtailed,” said Deeksha Vanguru, member of ‘Stop Vizag Data Centers.’ Published - September 21, 2026 01:13 am IST