After PM Modi video removal, BJP’s Nishikant Dubey wants Meta head Mark Zuckerberg to say sorry

During a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology meeting, there was a heated disagreement between BJP and Opposition MPs over the removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook post and Meta's handling of the incident. 

Meta representatives were also called to appear before the committee following recent student protests and the controversy over the removal of PM Modi's Facebook post. During the meeting, BJP members, led by committee chairperson Nishikant Dubey, demanded a personal apology from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg for restricting PM Modi's Facebook post. However, opposition MPs disagreed with the BJP's stance.

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He also warned that if Zuckerberg does not apologise, the committee believes Meta's safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act should be withdrawn.

“Meta India removed the Prime Minister's content. This is not the first time Meta India has done this. If you recall, Zuckerberg himself made a statement in January regarding the 2024 elections and later apologised. This shows that his intention is to destabilise the country. When a video of the Prime Minister of India can be removed, and they themselves admitted that the content was missing for five hours, from 12:30 am to 5:00 am, this is a very serious matter,” he said.

“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 If Zuckerberg does not give it, then the safe harbour protection under Section 79 should be withdrawn from him,” he added.

Must read: Meta expresses regret over PM Modi video removal, offers apology before parliamentary panel: Sources

In addition to a personal apology, Dubey demanded that Meta provide a complete audit trail from “report to restoration” for the removal of PM Modi’s video post. He said the incident raised questions about Meta's content moderation processes and highlighted the need for greater oversight of its automated systems and recommendation algorithms. He said the incident raised questions about Meta's content moderation processes and highlighted the need for greater oversight of its automated systems and recommendation algorithms.

Now, Meta’s Public Policy head, Joel Kaplan, has been summoned by the government to brief the officials on the incident. Meta executives are also set to meet government officials on August 5 and 6 to discuss about its content moderation systems.