Indian Parliamentary Panel Questions Meta's 'Safe Harbour' Status Over PM's Video Removal
India's parliamentary committee on information technology has demanded an apology from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for temporarily removing Prime Minister Modi's video, threatening to review the company's 'safe harbour' protections.
Meta Platforms is facing increased regulatory scrutiny in India after a parliamentary standing committee on information technology demanded an "unqualified apology" from CEO Mark Zuckerberg regarding the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook video. The committee has also indicated that Meta's 'safe harbour' protections under India's Information Technology Act may be reconsidered.
The panel expressed concerns over the removal of the video, which featured PM Modi addressing students on exam controversies and paper leaks. The video was unavailable on Facebook for approximately five to six hours before being restored by Meta. Nishikant Dubey, chairperson of the parliamentary panel, stated that removing the Prime Minister's video exceeded the role of an intermediary and constituted acting as a publisher.
Dubey has given Zuckerberg three days to issue an apology, warning that failure to do so would lead the committee to consider recommending the withdrawal of 'safe harbour' protections afforded to social media intermediaries under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act. This discussion occurred during a meeting on August 3 that included officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), and representatives from major digital platforms.
Meta acknowledged the video's unavailability to the committee, attributing it to a technical error. The company had previously restored access, stating it was a mistake. The parliamentary panel also directed digital platforms to take immediate action against child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and content targeting women, warning that repeated failures could also impact their intermediary protections.
These developments add to Meta's ongoing regulatory challenges in India concerning content moderation, automated enforcement, child safety, and accountability. Investigations by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) into alleged CSAM promotion through Instagram ads are also ongoing.