PM Modi's Facebook Post Blocked, Mark Zuckerberg Asked to Apologize in 3 Days

JAKARTA - The Indian Parliamentary Committee for Communications and Information Technology has given Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg three days to deliver an apology in person for the temporary blocking of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's posts on Facebook.

India Today on Wednesday, August 5, reported that the committee led by Nishikant Dubey called the blocking of the prime minister's upload on July 23 an attack on democracy aimed at the leader of a country with a population of around 1.4 billion.

In July, Meta had restricted access to a video uploaded by Modi addressed to Indian students regarding the leak of the national exam.

The company later restored the upload with the excuse of a technical error and apologized.

However, the Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology considered the explanation "unsatisfactory".

As reported by ANTARA from Sputnik, India Today reported that the committee warned Meta if it did not meet the apology within three days, the government could consider revoking the platform's Safe Harbor immunity for user-generated content.

The move has the potential to pave the way for criminal liability for Meta's representatives in India.

Previously, on Tuesday, The Economic Times reported that the Indian government summoned Meta's senior management to discuss the incident of blocking Modi's uploads and asked for an explanation of the company's steps in eradicating child pornography content on its platform.

India has also previously been said to have sent a request for clarification to Meta regarding the issue.