'Apologise or Lose Safe Harbour': Parliament Panel Warns Meta Over PM Video Removal Before Aug 5-6 Meet

New Delhi: The row over Meta's temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook video escalated on Tuesday, with the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology questioning the company's explanation, demanding a personal apology from CEO Mark Zuckerberg, and warning of action against the social media giant if accountability is not fixed.

The committee, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, gave Meta three days to take action against those responsible for the takedown and insisted that Zuckerberg himself issue a public apology.

Members of the panel said the company's earlier apology citing a "technical glitch" was insufficient, stressing that the incident required accountability rather than mere regret.

According to the panel, if Meta fails to act, it could recommend a review of the company's safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act.

Loss of safe harbour would expose the platform to direct legal liability for certain content-related issues and could pave the way for legal proceedings against company officials.

The controversy stems from the temporary removal of Prime Minister Modi's Facebook video, which remained unavailable for nearly five hours before being restored. The video, originally posted on July 23, addressed India's youth and promised stringent action against paper leaks.

Meta later said the removal resulted from a technical error and restored the content after identifying the issue.

During the parliamentary panel meeting, members repeatedly questioned Meta officials over who authorised the takedown, why the Prime Minister's official content was removed, and whether the platform's algorithms displayed bias in content moderation. Lawmakers also sought to know who within the company would be held responsible for the lapse.

Committee chairman Nishikant Dubey described the removal of the Prime Minister's post as a serious matter, arguing that deleting the content of India's elected Prime Minister amounted to an attack on democratic institutions.

He maintained that a personal apology from Zuckerberg was necessary and warned that the issue could not be brushed aside as a routine technical malfunction.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has also expressed dissatisfaction with Meta's explanation, reportedly telling the company that simply blaming an algorithmic or technical glitch was not a reasonable defence for a technology firm of its scale.

Government officials are expected to continue discussions with Meta's global representatives over algorithmic transparency, platform accountability and content moderation practices.

Apart from the PM Modi video controversy, the parliamentary panel also raised concerns over the presence of child sexual abuse material, AI-generated deepfakes and other harmful content on Meta's platforms.

Members questioned why objectionable content remained accessible while an official post by the Prime Minister was briefly taken down, calling for stronger compliance with Indian laws governing digital intermediaries.

The latest developments underscore growing regulatory scrutiny of global technology companies in India, with Parliament signalling that platform accountability, transparency in algorithmic decisions and compliance with Indian laws will remain central issues in its engagement with Meta.

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