New Delhi | The government on Tuesday summoned Meta's public policy head after Prime Minister Narendra Modi's post of July 23 - addressing India's youth and promising stringent measures against paper leaks - was briefly restricted by the US-headquartered social media giant.
IT Secretary S Krishnan said that while Meta has apologised and admitted they made a mistake, the Ministry of Electronics and IT (Meity) is not happy with the explanation given and is seeking more details from the company.
"It is good that they have apologised and admitted what they did was a mistake. But we are not happy with the explanation...it is not adequate and we are seeking more details," Krishnan said.
Meanwhile, sources told PTI that Meta informed the government that a glitch in its automated content filters caused PM Modi's Facebook post removal for a brief while. Sources added that Meta has also offered to ringfence high-profile accounts to avoid a repeat.
According to Meta, the content was removed "in error" and has since been restored on the platform.
A screenshot of the restricted post circulating on social media, however, says that the content wasn't "available in your region due to a legal request".
Sources said Meta's explanation to the government citing a technical glitch in the automated content filters, is "not reasonable", and that the matter is "not settled and done". They further said that if indeed a glitch in the automated system caused the error, then Meta, being a technology company, must hasten to improve its tools.
Another source privy to the development said that the global head of public policy of Meta (Facebook and Instagram) has been summoned by the IT Ministry over the issue.
Sources said Meta officials attributed the error to AI-powered automated content filters that were reviewing shared posts and subsequent content that circulated following the original post by the PM; sources further said that Meta claimed its automated filters inadvertently ended up briefly removing the original post itself.
Government sources said that the issue goes beyond a single incident, and stressed that content moderation tools must comply with Indian laws. Sources added that officials also want to ensure Meta's global teams are fully apprised of Indian Government's concerns, and are being adequately briefed by the local teams about issues.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Instagram post on July 23, later shared on Facebook, marked his first direct selfie video aimed at engaging with young people and underscoring the government's commitment to crack down on paper leaks, but was subsequently restricted briefly by Meta on Facebook, prompting BJP worker Priti Gandhi to question the platform's actions.
In a post on X, she criticised Meta over the alleged restriction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's selfie video on Facebook, saying the move raised questions over the company's political bias, transparency and accountability.
"The Prime Minister of the world's largest democracy uploads his first direct selfie video to connect with India's youth... and Facebook restricts it??? Who gave Meta the authority to decide what millions of Indians should or should not see???" she had said.
She added: "This isn't just content moderation. It raises serious questions about your political bias, transparency & accountability. Respond!!!.
A Meta spokesperson said that the content was removed in error and has since been restored.
The video, posted on July 23 amid the student protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party, was Prime Minister Narendra Modi's outreach to youth where he had announced that a bill containing provisions for strong action against paper leaks will be introduced in Parliament.
In that video post, Modi also said the contours of the bill will be discussed at a meeting of the Union Cabinet the next day (Friday), where the proposed legislation will be finalised.
On July 25, Saturday, Cockroach Janta Party called off its 36-day agitation protesting irregularities in exams and the NEET paper leak, after Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned and the government accepted its other demands.
Union Minister Pralhad Joshi was given additional charge of Education Ministry besides his role as Consumer Affairs Minister.
It is pertinent to mention here that over the last few weeks, Meta has faced regulatory scrutiny on a number of issues.
The IT ministry issued a notice to WhatsApp earlier, questioning the Meta-owned platform's proposed username feature, as the government flagged concerns that it could materially increase online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams, and impersonation attacks. The government also slapped a stern notice on Meta over Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) in paid advertisements on Instagram.
Experts note that as social media platforms increasingly reshape the contours of digital content, public narratives and data ecosystems, the Centre has stepped up oversight of emerging technologies in the AI era, with a sharper focus on platform accountability and safeguards around user rights, privacy, transparency and consent.
Supreme Court advocate and cyber expert Pavan Duggal says a clear message needs to go out now that social media platforms cannot take Indian laws lightly.
Platforms need to be made more accountable, especially in the AI era, Duggal said, asserting that "If platforms cite technical glitch (in such matters) they should be prepared to lose their statutory exemption".
Meanwhile, a Parliamentary panel has summoned representatives of major social media platforms, including Instagram, along with officials of the ministries of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Home Affairs, on August 3 to discuss regulation of social media and digital platforms.
