'Zuckerberg should apologise for Modi reel removal or Meta will lose safe harbour', IT panel chief warns
The reel, uploaded on July 23, addressed nationwide protests over the NEET-UG paper leak and announced measures.
Nishikant Dubey, chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, warned Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to apologize for the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook reel. Dubey made the statement during a meeting attended by officials from Meta, Google, YouTube, X, and Snapchat, as well as representatives from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The meeting was called following Meta's brief removal of Modi's Facebook reel, which prompted the government to seek an explanation.
Dubey stated that Meta's mindset is to destabilize the country, and if Zuckerberg does not issue an apology, the committee will take back the safe harbour protection granted to Meta under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act. Section 79 grants intermediaries immunity from liability for third-party content hosted on their platforms, provided they comply with due diligence requirements and lawful government directions.
Meta initially apologized, attributing the removal to an algorithmic error. An executive from Meta assured that such an issue would not occur again and that the company would amend its algorithm. However, opposition MPs opposed any move to revoke Meta's safe harbour protection, arguing that criticism of the government should not be treated as anti-national content. They emphasized that the issue is about regulating technology, not democracy, and warned against treating political dissent as censorship.
Written by urgent.news from Hindustan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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