India Demands Apology From Mark Zuckerberg Over Removal Of Modi Video

The Indian government has called on Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg to apologise after a video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi was removed from the social media platform.

The video, which showed Modi addressing students during youth-led protests on July 23, was briefly taken down from Meta platforms Facebook and Instagram before being restored.

The parliamentary committee, led by lawmaker Nishikant Dubey, described the removal of the video featuring the leader of 1.4 billion people as an attack on democracy.

The panel stated that Meta must take action against those responsible and that Zuckerberg must apologize within three days. It warned that failure to do so could lead to the revocation of Meta’s “safe harbour” legal protections, which shield social media platforms from direct legal liability for user content.

Dubey stated that the panel has contacted the Ministry of Information Technology and the Ministry of Home Affairs, arguing that removing the Prime Minister’s video makes the company act as a publisher rather than a neutral platform. He noted that revoking safe harbour protections could open Meta and its executives to legal action across the country.

Meta subsequently restored the video and apologized for what it described as a technical glitch. However, India’s IT Ministry rejected the explanation as unreasonable, stating that as a major technology firm, Meta must improve its automated systems to prevent similar issues.