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‘Zuckerberg intends to destabilise India’: Parliament panel chief demands apology from Meta boss over PM post row
Highlighting the removal of PM Modi's content, Nishikant Dubey said this was “not the first time” Meta had done this.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey on Monday questioned Meta chief executive officer (CEO) Mark Zuckerberg's “intention”, days after the brief removal of one of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's videos on Facebook. Dubey, who is also the chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications & IT, further demanded an apology from Zuckerberg himself after a meeting of the panel.
Highlighting the removal of PM Modi's content, Dubey said this was “not the first time” Meta had done this. “If you recall, Zuckerberg himself made a statement in January regarding the 2024 elections and later apologised. This shows that his intention is to destabilise the country,” Dubey said, according to a video by news agency ANI.
After chairing a meeting with representatives from Meta, Snapchat, Google, X and YouTube, Dubey told reporters that the removal of PM Modi's video for over five hours was a “serious matter”. While Meta during the meeting reportedly said it was ready to apologise, according to a report by PTI news agency, Dubey stated that the apology must come from the CEO himself.
“Our committee has said two things and has clearly stated that the apology should come from Zuckerberg. If Zuckerberg does not give it, then the safe harbour protection under Section 79 should be withdrawn from him,” the BJP MP from Godda said.
As for “not the first time”, Dubey was referring to a statement made by Zuckerberg in January 2025, wherein he claimed that after Covid people lost trust in information given by the governments because of which incumbent governments that went to polls in 2024 had lost. The Meta CEO also included India while listing out such countries — BJP lost majority on its own but its alliance remained in power in the 2024 polls — following which the tech giant had to issue an apology.
Dubey slams Meta's algorithm, raises concern over child sexual abuse material
Dubey also slammed Meta's algorithm, alleging the viewership of registered parties was around 23 million, while that of non-registered parties or NGOs was 27 million, ANI reported.
“What Meta India did, what X did, and what YouTube did is a matter that the country should know. If you look at the viewership algorithm of the BJP, Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Aam Aadmi Party, the viewership is only 23 million. And those who are neither registered parties nor registered NGOs, their algorithm is 27 million. All political parties together are at 23-24 million,” he said.
He further said that an anti-reservation forum, formed five to six days ago, already had a viewership of 7 million. “The reason for that is that they have a policy of giving preference to newcomers,” Dubey said.
Dubey said child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was another issue with the the platform. “YouTube also has that content. Meta also has that content, and they do not remove content related to child abuse,” Dubey alleged, adding that content “related to women” is not removed.
He pointed out compliance-related challenges with the home ministry and the IT ministry. “So, we have said that in all these matters, and in many other matters, you know that the Chief Minister of the Congress government of Telangana has filed an FIR against Meta India. We have said that safe harbour should be removed in all these matters...” he added.
