Abhishek Banerjee of TMC seeks action against Facebook security lapse: ‘Serious breach’

Abhishek Banerjee has raised concerns about the security of his official Facebook page, accusing Meta of tampering with his personal information.

Trinamool Congress Lok Sabha MP Abhishek Banerjee has written to Meta, the parent company of the social media platform Facebook, about unauthorised access to his official page and tampering with his personal information.

Trinamool Congress (TMC) national general secretary Abhishek Banerjee. (HT FILE )

In the letter sent through his lawyer Sanjay Basu, Abhishek Banerjee demanded swift action and warned of legal consequences if the issue is not resolved.

The complaint mentions that the TMC MP's bio previously read, “The Official page of Abhishek Banerjee | Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) | National General Secretary, All India Trinamool Congress.”

However, on February 11, 2025, Banerjee noticed that his bio no longer displayed “All India Trinamool Congress” and only mentioned, “The Official page of Abhishek Banerjee | Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha) | National General Secretary.”

The lawyer said that upon receiving the information, Abhishek Banerjee verified his official Facebook page and confirmed that the term “All India Trinamool Congress” was missing from his bio.

“Such a change was neither undertaken nor authorised by my client. My client states that this incident is a serious breach of security of my client's account. My client, being a Member of Lok Sabha, holds a public office and his Facebook account serves not only as a platform for expression of his personal views, but also an essential channel for communication with his supporters, colleagues and constituents. It is rather alarming that the Facebook account belonging to my client which is also verified by Facebook with “Blue Tick” has been unauthorizedly accessed and critical details regarding my client have been illegally altered, without any intimation to my client,” Basu mentions in the complaint on behalf of Banerjee.

The lawyer also mentioned that the unauthorised alterations made to Abhishek Banerjee's Facebook profile are harmful and misleading, as they misrepresent his political views.

“This unauthorized alteration has caused significant damage to my client's reputation and has negatively influenced the public perception about my client, especially, among his wide support space. As a public official, the breach also seriously undermines public trust and confidence in my client's communication platform. My client states that Facebook is a social media platform having a very wide reach and is expected to offer robust security measures and protect the sensitive and personal information of my client, especially given the high visibility and public nature of my client's position,” the complaint reads.

The complaint further reads that this incident points to a serious lapse in Facebook's security protocols, leading to the alleged unauthorised manipulation of Abhishek Banerjee’s account.

The lawyer, on behalf of his client, demanded that Facebook must initiate a prompt and thorough investigation into how this breach took place.

“I, on behalf of my client abovenamed, do hereby call upon you to initiate a prompt and thorough investigation into how this breach occurred including identifying the persons responsible for accessing my client's account without authorisation,” the lawyer has mentioned.