NEW DELHI: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology has asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to issue a public apology over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video from Facebook, while warning that the company could face a review of its safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act if it fails to comply.
The demand was made during a meeting of the parliamentary panel chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey. Addressing reporters after the meeting, Dubey said the committee had conveyed two clear recommendations to Meta regarding the incident.
“Our committee has said two things and has clearly stated that the apology should come from Zuckerberg. If Zuckerberg does not give it, then the safe harbour protection under Section 79 should be withdrawn from him,” Dubey said.
Committee Calls Incident ‘Very Serious’
Dubey described the temporary disappearance of the Prime Minister’s video as a serious issue, noting that Meta itself had acknowledged that the content remained unavailable for nearly five hours.
“When a video of the Prime Minister of India can be removed, and they themselves admitted that the content was missing for five hours, from 12:30 am to 5:00 am, this is a very serious matter,” he said.
He alleged that the incident reflected an attempt to destabilise the country.
Referring to a previous controversy involving Zuckerberg, Dubey added:
“If you recall, Zuckerberg himself made a statement in January regarding the 2024 elections and later apologised. This shows that his intention is to destabilise the country.”
Panel Raises Concerns Over Social Media Platforms
The committee chairman also criticised Meta, YouTube and X over their handling of content moderation and platform algorithms.
According to Dubey, the companies had failed to adequately explain how their recommendation algorithms function and had not taken sufficient action against child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and content affecting women despite India’s legal framework.
He said the committee had recommended reviewing the scope of safe harbour protection in such cases and also referred to the FIR registered by the Telangana government against Meta India.
Background: PM Modi’s Facebook Video Temporarily Removed
The controversy began in the early hours of July 28, when a video uploaded on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official Facebook page suddenly became inaccessible to users.
The video contained the Prime Minister’s first direct message to Generation Z amid the ongoing Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests over the alleged NEET paper leak and had attracted significant public attention.
Users attempting to access the post were shown a message stating that the content had been withheld in India due to a “legal request”. Screenshots of the notice quickly spread across social media, triggering speculation over the reason behind the video’s removal.
The video was restored within a few hours.
Meta Cites Technical Glitch
Following the restoration of the video, Meta clarified that its temporary removal was caused by an internal technical glitch and was not the result of any government directive or action taken under the company’s content moderation policies.
The company apologised for the incident, describing the temporary unavailability of the Prime Minister’s video as an unintended technical error.
The parliamentary panel, however, has now sought a public apology directly from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and indicated that it would examine whether the platform should continue to enjoy safe harbour protection if concerns over such incidents remain unaddressed.
