An Indian parliamentary panel has demanded an apology from Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the removal last week of a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the country’s youth. The removal sparked an angry backlash against the social media giant.
Chairman of the panel Nishikant Dubey MP, from Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party, said Zuckerberg should apologize over the temporary removal of Modi’s Facebook video, saying that Meta should lose its safe harbor protection if it failed to do so.
“Our committee has said two things and has clearly stated that the apology should come from Zuckerberg. If Zuckerberg does not give it, then the safe harbor protection under Section 79 should be withdrawn from him,” Dubey told reporters after the meeting ended.
Section 79 of India’s Information Technology Act protects internet service providers, social media platforms, and online marketplaces from legal liability for third-party content, provided they act as neutral hosts and follow basic due diligence.
While a parliamentary panel in India cannot directly punish anyone, it can submit punitive recommendations to the full House for a final vote.
The global head of public policy of Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, was summoned by India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) recently over the issue.
The combined user base of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in India is more than 1.15 billion, making it Meta’s largest market.
The meeting of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology was convened to discuss the regulation of social and digital media platforms.
Representatives of Meta, YouTube, X, Snapchat, the Indian Home Ministry, and MeitY appeared before the panel. Meta apologized before the panel, saying the removal of the video was due to an error.
Still, members of the panel took a tough stance, with several lawmakers saying the issue went beyond an apology. They demanded accountability, according to reports.
“Committee members also demanded legal action against the Meta official responsible for removing the video,” a report by ANI news agency said, quoting sources.
“For social media platforms who have been operating in this sector, they have to be alive to the requirements of the countries in which they are operating,” RT India’s managing editor, Ashok Bagriya, said.
Last week, police in the south Indian city of Hyderabad registered a case against Meta’s country head and several Facebook and Instagram users over posts deemed offensive toward Modi.
On Monday, lawmakers sought details from Meta on what action the company had taken regarding controversial and objectionable content on its platforms.
India has tightened content rules that protect online platforms from liability over user-generated content. Since February, platforms have been asked to remove unlawful content flagged by courts or the government within three hours. The window was previously 36 hours.