India panel warns Meta over Modi video removal

India's parliamentary committee on communications and information technology has demanded an apology from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the temporary removal of a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The panel, headed by lawmaker Nishikant Dubey, stated that the action was unacceptable for an intermediary platform. The incident occurred when a video of Modi addressing students during youth-led protests on July 23 was briefly taken down from Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram. Although the video was later restored, with Meta attributing the removal to a technical error, the parliamentary committee views the action more severely. Dubey, a member of Modi's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), asserted that the removal was not the act of an intermediary but that of a publisher, implying a deliberate editorial decision. "Zuckerberg will have to apologise within three days," Dubey stated, emphasizing the urgency and seriousness with which the committee views the matter. Meta's chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, reportedly met with India’s Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, indicating the high-level attention this issue has garnered. India represents Meta's largest market, with hundreds of millions of users across its platforms, making the relationship between the tech giant and the Indian government particularly significant.

“

Deleting the prime minister’s video was not the work of an intermediary, but that of a publisher.