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Govt summons Meta’s global head after PM Modi's Facebook reel removed
The Centre has summoned Meta's global leadership over compliance concerns, including PM Modi's deleted Reel, CSAM and WhatsApp usernames.
The Union government has summoned the top global leadership of Meta and Instagram through an email invitation, signalling growing frustration with the company’s India policy team over a series of compliance disputes.
The summons follows the brief removal of a Facebook Reel posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday. Beyond the video removal, discussions will cover child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on Instagram, WhatsApp’s proposed username feature, and broader adherence to India’s digital laws.
Ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) secretary S Krishnan has called the meeting with the Meta top brass. Although the deleted Reel was restored the same day, Meta did not clarify how long the clip remained unavailable.
“The content was removed in error and has since been restored,” a Meta spokesperson said. A person aware of the matter said the tech giant has apologised to the government for the oversight.
The video, uploaded late at night on July 23 amid nationwide protests over the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET-UG) paper leak, acknowledged student concerns and outlined measures including fast-track courts and harsher penalties for exam paper leaks. The post has garnered 397 million views on Instagram and 164 million on Facebook.
Government officials said Meta must explain how its automated systems temporarily took down content from Modi’s official account despite possessing advanced moderation and recommendation tools.
Officials argued that a platform capable of targeted user identification should easily distinguish official accounts from unofficial ones.
Centre questions Meta's content moderation, India policy team
For the government, the Reel incident reflects a broader breakdown in communication. Meity intends to speak directly with US leadership after concluding that the local policy team failed to effectively convey India’s regulatory concerns. “The point is to highlight that we want somebody senior from the US team to come in because it looks like the India policy team is not able to convey the seriousness of the issues to the US team,” a Meity official said, asking not to be named.
“Our concerns are regularly expressed and we’re in regular touch with people in the India team. Up to what extent these people take up our concerns seriously internally in the US is also important. That is what we would like to understand - whether all the messaging is happening,” the official added. Meta did not respond to an email seeking comment regarding the assertion that its India policy team had failed to convey concerns to global executives. Meta did not respond to an email seeking comment regarding the assertion that its India policy team had failed to convey concerns to global executives.
CSAM, WhatsApp usernames on meeting agenda
The upcoming talks will also address Instagram’s handling of CSAM.
Earlier this month, Meity directed Meta to immediately disable advertisements and content promoting or facilitating CSAM after a BBC Eye investigation revealed ads directing users to platforms selling such material. Meta has since submitted a requested report to the government.
WhatsApp’s proposed username feature forms another key dispute. Meity issued a notice asking why action should not be initiated under the Information Technology (IT) Act and IT Rules, warning that usernames could facilitate impersonation, phishing, identity theft, and digital fraud by enabling communication without displaying phone numbers. The government instructed the platform to pause the feature until consultations conclude.
Also read: Meta Is Fighting a Mountain of Social-Media Lawsuits—at Just the Wrong Time
Government seeks stricter compliance with IT Rules
India also expects Meta’s global leadership to grasp broader regulatory demands, particularly obligations under the IT Rules regarding synthetic or AI-generated content and public order maintenance.
“We have a broader social media issue today in the sense of proliferation of content - a lot of it is synthetically generated information -- and there is a requirement that they need to follow the law of the land. There is a public order question. It’s important that they understand the Indian legal position clearly,” the official said.
The summons coincides with Meity tightening oversight through amendments to the IT Rules that shorten takedown timelines and expand due diligence rules for social media intermediaries. Further proposed amendments under consultation aim to reinforce platform oversight.
Separately, Meta is scheduled to appear before the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology next week. Committee chairman Nishikant Dubey posted on social media platform X that Meta, X, Snapchat, and Google have been called on August 3 to explain user privacy protection and public order measures.
According to the Lok Sabha website, the sitting of the standing committee has also called upon MeitY and the ministry of home affairs, along with social media platforms, to brief on the subject “Social and Digital platforms and their regulation”.
