IT Ministry Summons Meta After Deletion of PM Modi's Post

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has summoned Meta’s global head of public policy after the social media company removed a Facebook post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressed to the country’s youth, sources confirmed on Tuesday (The Hindu). The video, uploaded on July 23 at the height of student protests organised by the Cockroach Janta Party, featured the Prime Minister promising stringent measures against paper leaks and indicating that a draft bill with provisions for fast-track courts and stricter penalties would be discussed in the Cabinet the following day (The Hindu).

According to a senior government official, the summons were sent via email to Meta’s global affairs president, Joel Kaplan, and Instagram chief, Adam Mosseri (Google News India). The official stated that the ministry had been holding meetings with Meta’s India-based policy executives regarding non-compliance with the Information Technology Rules and the prevalence of deepfakes on the platforms, but felt their concerns were not being adequately conveyed to the company’s leadership in the United States (Google News India). Beyond seeking an explanation for the removal of the Prime Minister’s video, MeitY intends to discuss Meta’s broader compliance with India’s technology-focused laws and the issue of deepfakes (Google News India).

A Meta spokesperson acknowledged the takedown, stating the content was removed "in error" and has since been restored on the platform (The Hindu). In the restored video, Modi said he was aware the issue of paper leaks caused "immense distress to lakhs of students and their parents," adding that numerous measures had been taken over the preceding two-and-a-half months and that culprits had been apprehended and jailed (Google News India). He further noted that departments had worked "late into the night" to submit a draft proposal including fast-track courts and stricter penalties, which would be finalised after Cabinet discussion and introduced in Parliament as early as the second week of the upcoming session (Google News India).

The post was part of a broader outreach effort; the Press Information Bureau had earlier reported that the Prime Minister shared a Sanskrit Subhashitam highlighting the importance of focus and willpower, as well as another verse on fostering beneficial thoughts, words, and actions (PIB). The vertical-format video was widely seen as an attempt to communicate directly with young users on platforms like Instagram, where short-form vertical content dominates (Google News India). The incident occurred against the backdrop of the government ordering the censorship of various content related to the student protests, including videos documenting violence and those containing slurs against senior leaders, following the resignation of Dharmendra Pradhan as education minister (Google News India). Queries sent to the IT Ministry regarding the summons remained unanswered at the time of publication (Google News India).