Mark Zuckerberg Should Apologise Over PM Modi’s Facebook Video Removal: Parl Panel Chair

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg should apologise over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook video, BJP MP Nishikant Dubey said after the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology questioned the social media giant over the incident.

Dubey, who chairs the panel on communications and IT, said Meta’s safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act could be reconsidered if Zuckerberg failed to apologise. According to a report by ANI, Meta admitted before the committee that the PM’s video remained unavailable for more than four hours.

The remarks came after Meta’s global representatives appeared before the parliamentary panel, alongside executives from other digital platforms, including Google, X, YouTube, and Snapchat, to discuss the regulation of social media and digital platforms.

According to PTI, committee members questioned Meta over why the PM’s video was removed, how long the restriction remained in place, and what safeguards the company has implemented to prevent similar incidents.

Earlier, Meta had blamed a “technical error” for the removal of PM Modi’s video, saying it was later restored. However, the MeitY reportedly found the explanation unsatisfactory.

The committee also questioned Meta on its content moderation practices, algorithmic bias, transparency in takedown decisions and whether its systems are capable of detecting deepfakes and other harmful content involving public figures.

According to ANI, members further raised concerns over the growing misuse of social media platforms for financial fraud, asking companies why fraud-related cases were not separately disclosed in their compliance reports. The panel also called for prominent labelling of AI-generated content and stronger safeguards against deepfake-driven investment scams.

Child safety also featured prominently during the discussions, with members seeking explanations over advertisements linked to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and the measures platforms have in place to detect and remove such content. 

The committee also questioned whether Meta’s policies on bullying, harassment, threats and coordinated abuse were being enforced consistently, while raising concerns over the alleged removal of several pro-India pages.

The scrutiny adds to Meta’s mounting regulatory challenges in India. Last week, Meta India vice president and head Arun Srinivas was named in an FIR registered in Hyderabad over allegedly objectionable content circulated on Facebook and Instagram. The FIR also named operators of multiple accounts accused of sharing morphed content targeting PM Modi.

Following the Facebook video incident, the company introduced additional checks, with similar moderation decisions now requiring approval from at least two senior executives.

Separately, IT secretary S Krishnan said the government would raise concerns with Meta’s global team over issues including gaps in tackling CSAM and the wrongful removal of prominent accounts during a separate meeting in the coming days.

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