An Indian Parliamentary standing committee has issued a stern demand for an apology from Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg within three days over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video from Facebook, threatening to withdraw his immunity under the IT Act if he fails to comply, while also pushing for government action against Google India regarding financial fraud.
Key Points
- An Indian Parliamentary standing committee has given Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg three days to apologise for the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video from Facebook.
- The committee warned that failure to apologise could lead to the withdrawal of protection and immunity granted under Section 79(3) of the IT Act, allowing action against him as a publisher.
- The panel also demanded government action against Google India's head following investor losses exceeding Rs 48 lakh due to fraud apps, citing Hyderabad Cyber Police action.
- The removal of PM Modi's video, addressing students on examination controversies and paper leaks, was deemed a serious issue by the committee.
- Meta attributed the incident to a technical glitch and apologised, but the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology found the explanation 'inadequate'.
A parliamentary standing committee on Wednesday gave Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg three days to apologise for the removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video from Facebook and threatened to withdraw immunity if it was not done.
In a letter to the secretary, Ministry of Electronics and IT, a director of the Lok Sabha secretariat said the removal of the prime minister's video addressing students and Gen Z regarding examination controversies and strict actions against paper leaks from Facebook for five-six hours had been viewed very seriously.
Demand for Apology and IT Act Implications
'During the deliberations, the Committee demanded an apology from Mr Mark Zukerberg, Meta Chief on this issue. If he fails to tender an unqualified apology within 3 days of receipt of this letter, the protection/immunity given under Section 79(3) of IT Act may be withdrawn and action taken against him as a Publisher,' said the letter signed by A Jyothirmayi.
The parliamentary standing committee on information technology also demanded action against intermediary platforms that carry child sexual abuse material (CASM) and demeaning material against women.
'If the intermediary platforms fail to remove CASM material from their portals, action should be taken under section 79(3) of IT Act,' the letter said.
Action Against Google India Sought
The panel also sought government of India action against Google India head over investors losing more than Rs 48 lakh through fraud apps.
'The Committee while discussing Hyderabad Cyber Police Action against the Google India Head as a co-accused along with the Cyber fraudsters after the complainants alleged that they lost more than Rs.48 lakhs by investing through fraud Apps, the Committee desired that similar action be taken against the Google India by the Government of India,' the letter stated.
Committee Meeting and Chairperson's Remarks
The letter comes two days after the committee held a meeting with representatives of the ministries of Home Affairs, Electronics and Information Technology as well as the platforms Snapchat, Google, X, Meta (Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram) and YouTube on 'Social and Digital Platforms and their Regulation'.
After the meeting on Monday, panel chairperson Nishikant Dubey said this was not the first time that Meta had removed a video.
"In 2024, Mark Zuckerberg had made objectionable comments on Parliamentary election results. Their mindset is to destabilise the country," he alleged.
He said social media platforms don't listen to the directives of the Ministries of Home Affairs and IT.
Addressing the panel, Dubey said temporary removal of the prime minister's official Facebook post was a serious issue and the committee wanted to know why this was done.
"Either there is a serious failure of the system or there is a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image of PM of our country on the part of Meta and Instagram. If this is the way Meta deals with the official post of the PM what to speak of the post of the common man of our country. Such a failure cannot be dismissed merely as a technical error," he said.
The US-headquartered social media giant has attributed the incident to a technical glitch and apologised.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) found the explanation 'inadequate'.
The company said the content was removed 'in error' and was restored on the platform.
