Modi Video Removal: Indian Parliamentary Committee Gives Zuckerberg 3-Day Ultimatum

India's parliamentary standing committee on communications and information technology has given Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg a three-day ultimatum to issue a public apology over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video from Facebook.

Led by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, the committee termed the incident an "attack on democracy" and an insult to the representatives of over 1.4 billion Indian citizens.

The committee warned that failure to apologize within three days could lead to the revocation of Facebook's "Safe Harbor" protection, which shields the platform and its executives from direct legal and criminal liabilities regarding user content. The video, initially posted on Instagram on July 23, featured PM Modi promising strict action against question paper leaks before being briefly removed from Facebook and later restored. Although Meta attributed the incident to a "technical glitch," the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology rejected the explanation as unreasonable.

Additionally, the parliamentary committee has ordered major digital platforms, including Google, YouTube, X, and Meta, to remove child sexual exploitation and abuse material (CSAM) and offensive content targeting women within three days. Meanwhile, Telangana police have filed separate lawsuits against Google for hosting fraudulent financial apps and against Meta for the circulation of fake videos involving Prime Minister Modi.