The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology questioned Meta officials over the removal of a video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Facebook, with several members saying that
an apology alone would not suffice.
According to sources, the issue came up during a meeting of the panel, where Meta executives were asked to explain why the video was taken down.
During the meeting, Meta officials told the committee that the video had been removed “by mistake” and apologised for the error.
However, several members of the committee maintained that “an apology alone is not enough” and called for accountability. They sought action against the Meta official responsible for removing the video.
The committee also raised questions about Meta’s content moderation practices, asking the company what steps it was taking against controversial and objectionable content on its platforms.
Sources said the panel sought a detailed explanation from Meta on the circumstances behind the removal of the Prime Minister’s video and stressed the need for accountability in addition to an apology.
The latest development comes days after Meta apologised for briefly removing a video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his official Facebook page, saying the incident was caused by a technical error and not an intentional content moderation decision.
The controversy began in the early hours of July 28 when users found that the Prime Minister’s video, his first direct address to Generation Z during the ongoing Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) led protests over the NEET paper leak, was no longer accessible on Facebook.
For a short period, users trying to view the post were shown a message stating that it was unavailable in India due to a “legal request”. The notice quickly spread across social media, triggering speculation over why the video had been removed.
Meta restored the video within a few hours and later clarified that its removal was the result of an internal technical glitch. The company said the incident was neither linked to a government request nor the enforcement of its content policies.
Before the video was restored, screenshots of the restriction notice had already gone viral on social media.
The video had drawn widespread attention as Prime Minister Modi addressed young people on concerns surrounding examination paper leaks and highlighted the government’s efforts to strengthen the examination system and restore students’ confidence.
