# X Sent Me a Police or Government Takedown Notice: Is It Real > X forwarded a police or government request to remove your posts or block your account? How to check the email, the agency and what X says it will do. - URL: https://www.awarexone.com/research/x-takedown-notice-from-police-or-government-is-it-real-verify - Author: Md Shariar Shanaz Shuvon, Founder & CEO, AwareXone - Published: 2026-11-13 - Topics: X, Legal requests, Takedown notices, Phishing - Related service: X account help: https://www.awarexone.com/platforms/x ## Short answer To check a police or government takedown notice forwarded by X, confirm the email came from an @x.com address with no attachments and no password request. Then check the agency through contact details on its own official website. X says its notice is not legal advice, so get legal advice and never ignore a genuine order. ## Summary - X says it attempts to notify account holders of legal requests by email and in the app, usually with a copy of the request, unless it is prohibited. - X says it only sends email from @x.com and never sends attachments or asks for your password by email, so check the sender before anything else. - A genuine email from X can still forward a request that someone faked, so check the issuing agency through contact details on its own official website. - X says its notice is not legal advice, and that it is up to you whether to challenge the request, remove posts or leave them up. - Withheld in a country is different from a suspension, and X says you can appeal a withholding by replying to its email or through its help pages. An email arrives saying X has received a legal request from a police force or government body about your account. It names posts, asks for removal, perhaps mentions blocking the account, and the deadline looks short. You want to do the right thing, but you also wonder whether this is real. There are two separate questions: did the email really come from X, and is the request it forwards genuine. This guide covers how to check both, what X says it does with these requests, how withholding differs from a suspension, and what to keep if you decide to respond. It does not give legal advice, and it never suggests ignoring a genuine order. Last checked: 13 November 2026. ## Quick Answer To check a police or government takedown notice forwarded by X, confirm the email came from an @x.com address with no attachments and no password request. Then check the agency through contact details on its own official website. X says its notice is not legal advice, so get legal advice and never ignore a genuine order. ## Why This Is Being Asked Now On 10 November 2026, [The Hindu reported](https://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/delhi-police-crime-branch-registers-fir-over-fake-notices-seeking-blocking-of-iff-sflc-x-accounts-probes-imposter/article71685928.ece) that Delhi Police's Crime Branch had registered a case over fraudulent notices issued in the force's name, seeking the removal of social media posts and the blocking of accounts belonging to two digital rights organisations. The report said X had told the Delhi High Court that the takedown requests purportedly issued in the name of Delhi Police were fraudulent. In other words, someone impersonated a police force to send requests to X, and the report says X forwarded them to one of the organisations on 3 November. The forwarding was genuine; the requests behind it were not. ## Step One: Check the Email Came From X X's page [About fake X emails](https://help.x.com/en/safety-and-security/fake-x-emails) says X will only send you emails from @x.com, that it will never send emails with attachments, and that it will never ask for your X password by email. It also says spoofed emails can look very convincing and suggests checking the email headers to find out more about the source. - Check the full sender address, not only the display name. - Do not open attachments. X says it does not send them. - Do not click links in the email to log in. Open X yourself in the app or by typing x.com. - If the email asks for your password, it is not from X. Never send a login code in reply either. - If you already entered your login on a link, follow X's [compromised account](https://help.x.com/en/safety-and-security/x-account-compromised) steps straight away. If the email fails these checks, it is phishing using legal language. Our guide to [what to do after clicking a phishing link](https://www.awarexone.com/research/clicked-phishing-link-what-to-do) covers next steps. ## Step Two: Check the Request Behind It X's [Legal request FAQs](https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/x-legal-faqs) say legal requests can come from law enforcement, government agencies, lawyers representing a criminal defendant, civil litigants or other authorised reporters, and that X will include a copy of the legal request unless prohibited. That copy is what you check. *Verification checklist by AwareXone, based on X's legal request and withheld content pages (read 13 November 2026) and the case reported by The Hindu on 10 November 2026.* | Check | How to do it | Warning signs | | --- | --- | --- | | Who issued it | Find the agency's official website yourself and use the contact details listed there | Contact details only appear in the notice itself | | Reference number | Ask the agency, through its listed contact, whether the reference exists | The agency cannot find it or does not recognise it | | Email or address used | Compare it with addresses listed on the agency's official site | Free webmail, lookalike domains, or addresses that bounce | | What it asks for | Read which posts or accounts are named and under what law | Vague grounds, or every post you have made | | Deadline | Note it, but do not let it rush your checks | Pressure to act before you can verify | | Who it targets | Consider whether the request fits your work | Requests aimed at critics, journalists or rights groups deserve careful checking | Do not contact the agency using a contact number, email or link given only in the notice. Use details from its own official website. If the agency confirms the request is genuine, treat it seriously and get legal advice. ## What X Says It Will Do X's [About country withheld content](https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/post-withheld-by-country) page says X may withhold access to certain posts or accounts in specific countries in response to valid legal requests or local law violations, and that it will promptly notify affected users unless prohibited, for example by a court order under seal. The legal request FAQs say the notice is meant to let you remove the content, respond directly to the requester if possible, or seek legal advice to challenge the request, before X may act. X's FAQs also say: "Our notice does not represent legal advice that certain content should be removed." And they say X cannot provide legal advice or any further information beyond its notice. X publishes details of the government and non-government requests it receives in its [transparency reports](https://transparency.x.com/), which the FAQs say come out twice a year. ## Withheld Is Not Suspended *By AwareXone, based on X's About country withheld content page (read 13 November 2026). The suspension row is our own note. Wording on notices may vary.* | Outcome | What it means | What you can do | | --- | --- | --- | | Notice only | X has told you a request exists | Verify it, then decide with legal advice | | Post withheld in a country | The post is hidden in that country only, with a visual indicator | Appeal by replying to X's email (legal demand) or through X's help pages (local law) | | Account withheld in a country | The whole account is hidden in that country | Same appeal routes as above | | Suspension | A separate X Rules enforcement, not a country withholding | Use X's suspension appeal | The withheld content page says it is up to the affected user to decide whether to challenge the underlying request, and that you may leave the content online, remove posts or deactivate the account. If your account was suspended rather than withheld, see our guide to [appealing an X suspension](https://www.awarexone.com/research/x-account-suspended-appeal). ## What to Keep as a Record - The email from X, with its full headers. - The copy of the legal request X attached or included. - Your notes of how and when you checked the agency, and what they said. - The list of posts or accounts named. - Any reply you send to X or the requester, with the date. > Warning: **Scam warning.** Fake legal and copyright notices are a common way to steal X accounts. If an email asks you to log in through a link, give a code or pay to resolve a legal issue, stop. X says it never asks for your password by email. If you suspect a password reset email you did not ask for, see our guide to [password reset emails you did not request](https://www.awarexone.com/research/x-password-reset-emails-i-did-not-request). > Note: **Reporting is free.** Checking a notice with the agency, appealing a withholding to X and reporting phishing cost nothing. You do not need to pay anyone to check a notice. ## Limits X decides what it does with a legal request, and courts and agencies decide what the law requires. A request that turns out to be genuine may carry real legal obligations, and ignoring it can make things worse. A request that turns out to be fake should be reported to the agency it claims to come from, and to X by replying to its notice. ## When It Is Safer to Get Expert Help These notices mix two risks: a fake email that steals your account, and a real or fake legal request with consequences either way. Acting quickly without checking can mean deleting work you had every right to publish, or giving your login to a phishing site. If you are unsure whether the email is genuine or your account is at risk, having an experienced team check it is the safer choice. AwareXone checks whether the email and links are really from X, secures your account if needed and helps you organise your record. We do not give legal advice, we never ask for your password or codes, and we cannot promise X's decision. For the legal question, speak to a lawyer. Apply for case review through our [X account help](https://www.awarexone.com/platforms/x) service, and read how we work on our [trust page](https://www.awarexone.com/trust). ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does X really forward police and government requests to users? Yes. X says it attempts to notify account holders of legal requests by email and in the app, with a copy of the request, unless prohibited. ### How do I know the email is from X? X says it only sends email from @x.com, never sends attachments and never asks for your password by email. ### Can a real email from X contain a fake request? Yes. In a case reported on 10 November 2026, X told a court that requests sent in a police force's name were fraudulent. ### Should I just delete the posts to be safe? That is your decision. X says its notice is not legal advice. Verify the request and get legal advice first. ### Can I appeal if my post is withheld in a country? X says you can appeal by replying to its email if based on a legal demand, or by contacting X through its help pages if based on local law. ## Official sources - [Official: About country withheld content | X Help Center (read 13 November 2026)](https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/post-withheld-by-country) - [Official: Legal request FAQs | X Help Center (read 13 November 2026)](https://help.x.com/en/rules-and-policies/x-legal-faqs) - [Official: About fake X emails | X Help Center (read 13 November 2026)](https://help.x.com/en/safety-and-security/fake-x-emails) - [Official: Help with my compromised account | X Help Center (read 13 November 2026)](https://help.x.com/en/safety-and-security/x-account-compromised) - [Official: Transparency (read 13 November 2026)](https://transparency.x.com/) --- AwareXone is an independent provider serving clients worldwide, not affiliated with any platform. The platform makes the final decision on every account. 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