Lawmakers demand Meta apologise over PM Modi video deletion

Lawmakers have issued a strict three-day deadline to Mark Zuckerberg, demanding an apology for briefly removing a video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The Parliamentary Committee of Communications and Information Technology warned that failure to act against those responsible will result in Meta losing its Safe Harbour protection. Removing this legal shield allows the central government to file criminal charges directly against social media executives.

BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who leads the committee, condemned the deletion of the July 23 video. He stated that restricting a post from a leader representing 1.4 billion Indians constitutes a direct strike against democracy. Modi’s post was a selfie video originally shared on Instagram and later published on Facebook. It addressed Generation Z directly, promising strict action against paper leaks during ongoing student protests organized by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party.

Following severe public backlash, Meta quickly restored the post. Company executives recently faced tough questioning from the IT ministry during a formal meeting. While Meta blamed a technical glitch for the restriction, government officials rejected this excuse. They noted that a top technology firm should possess better internal controls and must hasten to improve its own monitoring tools. This confrontation reflects a growing global trend where sovereign governments are aggressively challenging the content moderation policies of multinational tech giants to ensure local compliance.

Strict Warning over Child Safety

Panel members also directed their heavy focus toward the alarming spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material on digital platforms. Dubey labeled these offenses as heinous crimes that completely transcend politics, religion, and caste, noting the country's deep sensitivity toward protecting minors and women. He also warned against the rise of fake videos and obscene depictions.

Recent data from the National Crime Records Bureau highlights the severity of this issue. In 2024, authorities registered 1,238 cybercrime cases against children, and 1,099 of those involved publishing or transmitting sexually explicit material. Overall crimes against minors grew by 5.8 percent to reach 1.87 lakh cases, while offenses targeting children have surged by nearly 46 percent since 2020. Officials issued a final warning to all major platforms, including Google, YouTube, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Snapchat, demanding strict compliance with safety rules to avoid immediate legal action.