New Delhi: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology has sought a public apology from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the temporary blocking of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video from Facebook.
Panel chairman and BJP MP Nishikant Dubey warned that the American tech major lose its safe harbour protection if it fails to respond.
Addressing mediapersons after chairing a meeting of the panel, Dubey said the committee had conveyed two clear demands to Meta.
“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 If Zuckerberg does not give it, then the safe harbour protection under Section 79 should be withdrawn from him,” Dubey said.
Removal of the Prime Minister’s video was a serious matter, reflecting an attempt to destabilise the country, claimed Dubey.
“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 am, this is a very serious matter,” Dubey stated.
He referred to an earlier controversy involving the same company.
“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,” Dubey alleged.
Accusing Meta, YouTube and X of failing to adequately address issues related to their algorithms and content moderation, Dubey claimed the platforms had not acted effectively against child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and content affecting women despite India’s strict legal framework.
Mentioning an FIR filed by the Telangana government against Meta India, the BJP leader informed that the committee had recommended reviewing safe harbour protection in such cases.
A video posted by the Indian PM on his official Facebook page in the early hours of July 28 suddenly became unavailable to users. It was Modi’s first direct message to Gen-Z amid the massive Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests over the NEET paper leak.
Social media users who tried to access the PM’s post during that period came across a message which stated that the content had been withheld in India due to a “legal request”. Screenshots of the message were circulated on social media, and many wondered whether the video – which attracted huge attention — had been taken down.
It was, however, restored within a few hours with Meta clarifying the removal was the result of an internal technical glitch, and not any action taken under its content moderation policies.
The company apologised for the incident, saying the temporary unavailability of the video was an unintended error.