India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology has reportedly given Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg a three-day deadline to apologize over the temporary removal of a Facebook video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, according to local media reports.
The committee, chaired by ruling party lawmaker Nishikant Dubey, has also asked Meta to take action against those responsible for the incident involving the video, which was originally posted on July 23.
According to News18, the committee warned that failure to comply with its demands could result in Meta losing its Safe Harbour protections in India, which provide legal immunity for third-party content posted on the platform. The report added that legal proceedings could also be initiated if the company does not respond within the specified timeframe.
Dubey reportedly described the temporary removal of the Prime Minister’s video as “an attack on democracy,” stating that the post represented not only Modi’s views but also the voice of India’s 1.4 billion citizens.
The controversy stems from a Facebook video in which Prime Minister Modi discussed measures to curb examination paper leaks. The video became temporarily unavailable on July 28 before being restored later the same day.
Meta had earlier attributed the removal to a technical error, saying the video was reinstated after the issue was identified and resolved.
The incident has renewed scrutiny of social media platforms’ content moderation practices and their handling of posts by public officials in India. The parliamentary committee is expected to review Meta’s response after the three-day deadline expires.
