NEW DELHI, India — An Indian parliamentary committee has demanded an apology from Meta Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg after the temporary removal of a video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, escalating scrutiny of the social media giant’s content moderation practices.
The controversy arose after a video of Modi addressing students during nationwide youth-led protests on July 23 was briefly taken down from Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram before being restored.
Meta attributed the removal to a technical error.
However, Nishikant Dubey, chairperson of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, said the incident raised serious concerns about the platform’s handling of content published by the Indian Prime Minister.
“Deleting the prime minister’s video was not the work of an intermediary, but that of a publisher,” Dubey, a lawmaker from Modi’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said.
“Zuckerberg will have to apologise within three days.”
Meta Issues Apology
Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan said he met India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday and apologised on behalf of the company.
“I apologised to the minister on behalf of Meta for the error restricting PM Modi’s post,” Kaplan said in a statement.
The apology followed growing political pressure over the incident in India, which is Meta’s largest market globally, with hundreds of millions of users across Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Committee Seeks Government Action
Dubey said the parliamentary panel had written to the Ministries of Home Affairs and Electronics and Information Technology, urging them to consider action against the social media company.
“If he does not apologise, then all the safe harbour protections that have been provided to his social media platforms should end,” Dubey told reporters.
Video Posted During Youth Protests
The video was published on July 23, at the height of demonstrations organised by the Cockroach Janta Party movement.
The protests began in New Delhi over alleged examination irregularities before expanding into broader demonstrations focusing on youth unemployment, education opportunities and concerns raised by critics over what they describe as Prime Minister Modi’s increasingly authoritarian style of governance.
In the video, Modi addressed students directly, promising tougher laws and stricter punishment for those involved in examination paper leaks.
The post also marked the Prime Minister’s first use of short-form vertical videos on Instagram, reflecting an effort to engage younger audiences who increasingly consume news and political content through social media platforms.
