Meta apologises to Centre after PM Modi’s Facebook video taken down for hours

Meta’s chief global affairs executive Joel Kaplan on Wednesday apologised to the Union government after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video message on Facebook was mistakenly restricted for nearly five hours, prompting sharp criticism from Indian authorities.

Kaplan conveyed the apology during a meeting with Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, saying he regretted the “error restricting PM Modi’s post” on behalf of Meta.

The meeting followed the Centre’s decision to summon Meta’s senior global executives after Modi’s July 28 Facebook post addressing India’s youth and promising strict action against paper leaks became unavailable between 12.30 am and 5.30 am. BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who heads the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, had demanded an apology from Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg within three days and warned that the company’s statutory immunity could be reconsidered.

Meta has maintained that the removal was caused by a technical error and that the content was restored once the mistake was identified. However, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology described the explanation as “inadequate.”

Kaplan and other Meta executives also met IT Secretary S. Krishnan to discuss broader issues surrounding content moderation. Officials raised concerns over child sexual abuse material (CSAM), AI-generated content, and safeguards to prevent the erroneous removal of posts from verified public figures.

The discussions come amid heightened scrutiny of Meta’s moderation practices following reports that advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material had appeared on its platforms, adding pressure on the company to strengthen its enforcement mechanisms in India.