Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology chairman Nishikant Dubey on Monday said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg should personally apologise for the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook video, warning that the company could lose its safe harbour protection if it failed to do so, PTI reported.
Dubey made the remarks after a more than three-hour meeting of the parliamentary panel, during which Meta representatives were questioned over the brief removal of a Facebook post featuring Prime Minister Modi.
'Video was taken down for five hours'
According to Dubey, Meta acknowledged during the meeting that the video remained unavailable for around five hours -- from 12.30 am to 5 am.
"They themselves admitted that it was taken down for five hours. This is a very serious matter and an apology must come from Zuckerberg's side," Dubey told reporters.
He added that the parliamentary panel had asked Meta to submit a written clarification within 10 days.
Warning over safe harbour protection
Dubey said that if Zuckerberg did not issue a personal apology, the government should consider withdrawing Meta's safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act.
The provision shields intermediaries such as social media platforms from liability for third-party content, subject to compliance with legal requirements.
"If Zuckerberg does not apologise, then the safe harbour protection they have under Section 79 should be taken back from them," he said, according to PTI.
'Not the first time'
The BJP MP alleged that the incident reflected a broader pattern of conduct by Meta.
"This is not the first time Meta India has done this... Their mindset is to destabilise the country," Dubey said, referring to remarks Zuckerberg made after the 2024 parliamentary election results.
He also alleged that Meta had failed to comply with directions issued by the Ministries of Home Affairs and Electronics and Information Technology.
Panel raises concerns over algorithms, accountability
According to reports, members of the committee questioned Meta officials over alleged algorithmic bias and asked why content related to child sexual abuse and crimes against women remained available while the Prime Minister's video was removed.
Some members also sought clarity on who was ultimately responsible for taking down the content and questioned the effectiveness of Meta's systems for detecting deepfakes involving the Prime Minister.
One panel member reportedly said that if "a video of the prime minister is not safe", accountability must be fixed.
Meta expresses regret
According to PTI, Meta representatives expressed regret over the incident before the parliamentary panel and said the company was prepared to apologise.
The social media company had earlier attributed the removal to a technical error, saying the content had been taken down inadvertently and was later restored.
However, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had described Meta's explanation as "inadequate".
Opposition raises concerns over free speech
Meanwhile, opposition MPs on the panel argued during the meeting that social media platforms must continue to provide space for dissent and cautioned against treating criticism of the government as anti-national.
The meeting was attended by Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, MeitY Secretary S Krishnan, and representatives from Meta, Google, X, YouTube and Snapchat as part of the committee's discussions on the regulation of social and digital media platforms.
