Meta apologises for restricting PM Modi's Facebook video

Meta has apologised for temporarily restricting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook post. The tech giant called it an "error".

"I apologised to the minister on behalf of Meta for the error restricting PM Modi's post," said Joel Kaplan, Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer.

The apology came after Meta executives, led by Kaplan, met Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and IT Secretary S. Krishnan in New Delhi.

The government had summoned the company after Facebook briefly restricted Modi's July 23 post in which he addressed students and promised strict action against examination paper leaks.

However, government sources told PTI that the apology came from Meta Chief Executive Officer Mark Zuckerberg.

Kaplan, who previously served as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy under former US President George W. Bush before joining Meta in 2011, flew to India for the meetings.

In Case You Missed It: Indian govt questions Meta over content moderation, says platforms must follow laws

Meta had earlier restored Modi's post and attributed its removal to an error by its AI-powered automated content filters.

According to the report, the discussions went beyond the Prime Minister's Facebook post.

The Indian officials questioned Meta over child sexual abuse material, deepfakes, safeguards for verified and prominent accounts, algorithmic bias and compliance with Indian laws.

Meta executives admitted to failures involving child sexual abuse content and deepfakes. They also admitted that "a lot of money was paid for boosting a certain type of content."

The Centre also challenged Meta's claim to intermediary protection under the Information Technology Act.

The Indian officials argued that Meta's algorithms actively decide which users receive content instead of merely hosting third-party posts. Because of this, they said, the company cannot claim to be a neutral intermediary entitled to safe harbour protections from liability.

The government also told the company that it would be called again for further discussions.

WHY THE ROW STARTED

The controversy began after Facebook temporarily restricted Prime Minister Modi's July 23 post addressing students on examination paper leaks. The video had first been uploaded on Instagram before being shared on Facebook, where it was briefly restricted.

The incident triggered political outrage. The government summoned Meta's global executives, while a Parliamentary Standing Committee sought an apology from Zuckerberg within three days.

IT Secretary Krishnan had said on Tuesday that the government wanted to understand why Meta's systems had failed and how the company planned to comply with Indian legal requirements.

(With inputs from PTI)