New Delhi [India], August 5 (ANI): The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology on Wednesday demanded an “unqualified apology” from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the removal of a video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Facebook, warning that the platform could lose its legal immunity in India.
In a strongly worded communication to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the committee expressed serious concern over the fact that a video of the Prime Minister addressing students and Gen Z regarding examination controversies and paper leaks was removed from Facebook for approximately five to six hours.
The committee has directed that Zuckerberg tender an apology within three days. If he fails to tender an unqualified apology within 3 days of receipt of this letter, the protection/immunity given under Section 79(3) of the IT Act may be withdrawn, and action will be taken against him as a Publisher.
The development follows a meeting held on August 3, 2026, where representatives from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), MeitY, and major digital platforms–including Meta, Google, X (formerly Twitter), Snapchat, and YouTube–discussed the regulation of social media.
Beyond the issue involving the Prime Minister’s content, the panel also took a tough stance on the safety of women and children online. The committee demanded immediate action against intermediary platforms carrying Child Sexual Abuse Material (CASM) and content demeaning to women. It warned that if platforms fail to remove such material, they will face the withdrawal of protection under Section 79(3) of the IT Act.
Furthermore, the committee flagged a recent case involving Google India. Referring to the Hyderabad Cyber Police’s action against the Google India Head–who was named a co-accused in a Rs 48 lakh investment fraud through fake apps–the panel urged the Central Government to initiate similar stern action against the tech giant.
Earlier, committee chairperson Nishikant Dubey, BJP MP from Godda, said Meta had admitted that the content of PM’s video was missing for over four hours.
“Meta India removed the Prime Minister’s content. This is not the first time Meta India has 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. When a video of the Prime Minister of India can be removed, and they themselves admitted that the content was missing for five hours, from 12:30 am to 5:00 am, this is a very serious matter,” he said.
“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,” he added.
Safe harbour is conditional legal protection given to websites that allow users to share content.
The relevant IT Rules cast specific legal obligations on intermediaries, including social media intermediaries and platforms, to ensure their accountability towards a safe and trusted internet, including their expeditious action towards removal of the prohibited misinformation, patently false information and deep fakes.
In case of failure of the intermediaries to observe the legal obligations as provided in the IT Rules, they lose their safe harbour protection under section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 (“IT Act”) and are
The Meta-owned social media platform restricted access to PM Modi’s video last month before restoring it.
The video, released on July 23, marked Prime Minister Modi’s first direct address to Gen Z during the protest over the NEET-UG 2026 exam leak.
In the video, the Prime Minister assured students that the government would take stronger action against examination paper leaks, saying stricter legal provisions would be brought before the Union Cabinet. (ANI)
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