New Delhi: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology told Meta Monday that an apology would not suffice when it came to the brief removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 23 July video message to the youth from his Facebook page, with members pressing the social media giant to fix responsibility, ThePrint has learnt from several individuals in the know.
The committee, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, met representatives of Meta, Google, YouTube, X and Snapchat, along with Home Secretary Govind Mohan, MeitY Secretary S Krishnan and officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), on the subject ‘Social and Digital Platforms and Their Regulation’.
The discussion, those in the know said, was centred around three subjects—the takedown of the Modi video, foreign links of platforms, and algorithmic amplification of content. A demand for a law to govern deepfakes and content generated by Artificial Intelligence was also raised.
Modi’s video, posted on 23 July, was the Prime Minister’s first direct address to the youth during the agitation led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over the NEET-UG 2026 paper leak. It showed the PM assuring students that the government would strengthen the law against paper leaks and set up fast-track courts. The post was taken off his Facebook account for a brief period before being restored. Meta had apologised for the removal of the video, calling it a technical error. “The content was removed in error and has since been restored,” a Meta spokesperson had said.
People familiar with the matter said the panel told Meta an apology was not enough, and asked who authorised the takedown, why the post was removed while content the members considered objectionable stayed online, and who would be held responsible. Meta did not give a specific response on several of these questions, these individuals said.
ThePrint reached a Meta spokesperson for comment on the developments via text. This report will be updated if and when a response is received.
The committee members further said, it is learnt, that these platforms have to follow the law of the land, and cited other countries where companies comply with local regulations. They were unanimous in the opinion that MeitY and MHA should take stricter action against these platforms, ThePrint has learnt.
The committee’s members also raised foreign links of social media platforms and questioned their association with organisations running campaigns online, those aware of the developments said. Meta denied any connection with the NGOs named before the panel, they said, but the Home Ministry told the committee that it had data on the matter.
The BJP had last week alleged that the surge of online support around the CJP protests was paid and coordinated. In response, Congress leader Supriya Shrinate had retorted that this was a predictable template of the ruling party.
The committee members also discussed amplification of content by these platforms’ recommendation systems, and sought to know how they are governed, those in the know said. They further pressed the government for a law to regulate deepfakes and AI-generated content.
The meeting comes days after Hyderabad police booked the “head of Meta India” as well as several Facebook and Instagram accounts over content targeting PM Modi posted in connection with the CJP protests over the NEET paper leak. Meta had said on 31 July that it was in touch with the agencies and cooperating to resolve the matter.
Separately, MeitY had summoned Meta’s global head of public policy over the removal of PM Modi’s video.
‘Bid to tarnish PM’s image’: Nishikant Dubey
In his opening address, a copy of which ThePrint has seen, Nishikant Dubey told the representatives that the committee was meeting to examine whether India’s legal framework for digital intermediaries delivered the protection citizens expect. He described the temporary removal of the Prime Minister’s Facebook post on the NEET examination as “a highly serious issue” and said it was either a failure of the system or “a deliberate attempt to tarnish the image” of the Prime Minister, which could not be dismissed as a technical error.
Dubey asked Meta to produce the complete audit trail from the report to the restoration of the post, and questioned whether the company applied its rules on bullying, harassment and coordinated abuse without bias, saying several pro-India pages had faced unexplained removals and reduced distribution.
Citing a BBC Eye investigation, Dubey said Instagram had carried paid advertisements directing users to channels distributing child sexual abuse material, and asked how they had cleared the company’s advertisement review. He said about 28.15 lakh cybercrime complaints had been reported in 2025, with losses of nearly Rs 22,495 crore, of which investment fraud made up around Rs 16,800 crore.
The MP further said that one platform had banned more than 72 lakh Indian accounts in a single month without explaining the grounds, and that the Hyderabad police had linked 2,367 cybercrime cases to Meta platforms between 2024 and mid-2026, most of them involving WhatsApp. The amended IT Rules had brought in obligations on AI-generated content from 10 February, he noted, but users still had no dedicated way to report deceptive AI-generated material.
Kangana’s tirade
BJP MP Kangana Ranaut, who has been a vocal critic of the CJP protests and is a member of the committee, cited a fake video of herself doing the rounds on social media Sunday, in which claimed she had been assaulted, as an example of platforms amplifying false content, those aware said.
The panel also took up user age. Members asked how a 15-year-old could be on social media and called for stronger age checks. Age verification for social media has been legislated or proposed in several countries, including Australia and New Zealand.
YouTube, it is learnt, was questioned over what members described as limited control on the content posted on it. The alleged circulation of child sexual abuse material across platforms was also discussed.
(Edited by Gitanjali Das)
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