Indian Government Summons Meta Global Affairs Chief Over PM Modi Reel Removal

India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has summoned Meta's President of Global Affairs, Joel Kaplan, for a personal appearance concerning the company's content moderation practices. The ministry deemed Meta's explanation for the brief removal of a reel posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as "not reasonable."

The summons escalates the issue to Meta's global leadership, as MeitY concluded that the local policy team failed to convey the seriousness of India's concerns to the company's headquarters. MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan sent the summons on Tuesday via email.

The incident involved a reel posted on July 23, during nationwide protests over the NEET-UG exam paper leak. In the reel, Modi addressed students, promising swift legal action and stricter penalties. Meta restored the post the same day, attributing the removal to a technical glitch in its automated content filters.

Government officials seek explanations on several points: the reel garnered nearly 400 million views, Meta proposed ring-fencing high-profile accounts to prevent future errors, and users saw a message about a legal request for removal, though no evidence indicates the government itself requested it. This action follows increased scrutiny over Meta's handling of protest-related content.