Bhubaneswar: Meta’s Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan on Wednesday apologised to India’s IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw for the brief restriction of a video post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
In a statement, Kaplan said he apologised on behalf of Meta for the error that limited the post. The apology came during meetings between Meta’s global team, including Kaplan and other policy officials, and senior government figures. They first met IT Secretary S Krishnan for about 45 minutes before holding a session chaired by Vaishnaw, according to Business Standard.
The controversy began after Modi’s July 23 video, in which he addressed students amid protests over examination paper leaks, was temporarily restricted on Facebook for several hours before being restored.
Meta attributed the removal to an inadvertent operational error, with sources later saying its AI systems had mistakenly flagged the post as a deepfake due to a sudden surge in views. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had earlier found the company’s initial explanation inadequate and summoned Meta’s global leadership.
During the discussions, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also apologised for the presence of child sexual abuse material, deepfake content and broader operational lapses on the company’s platforms.
Officials told Meta that it could not claim intermediary status under the IT Act because its systems select which users receive content, meaning safe-harbour protections may not apply. “They select who receives the content. Safe harbour under IT Act not applicable. They admitted that a lot of money was paid for boosting certain type of content. They apologised and regretted the mistake … Meta accepted the mistake that a lot of illegal content was promoted. Paid promotion carried out for specific audience,” The Hindu reported, quoting sources.
A parliamentary standing committee had separately demanded an unqualified apology from Zuckerberg within three days, warning that failure to comply could lead to withdrawal of legal immunity under Section 79 of the IT Act.
India remains Meta’s largest market by users, with hundreds of millions active on Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Officials indicated Meta executives may be called for further meetings as the government continues to press for stricter compliance with Indian laws on content moderation.
