Meta Apologises After Facebook Briefly Restricts PM Modi’s Video In India

Meta has formally apologised to India after Facebook briefly restricted Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video in July, an operational error that prompted government scrutiny and new safeguards for accounts belonging to prominent individuals.

 

TL;DR

 

• Meta’s Joel Kaplan apologised to India’s IT minister for the Facebook restriction.
• The video was temporarily restricted before Meta restored it and attributed the incident to an operational error.
• Indian officials summoned Meta executives, while a parliamentary committee sought an apology from CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

 

Meta Apologises For Restricting PM Modi’s Facebook Post

 

Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan apologised to India’s Information Technology Minister for Facebook’s temporary restriction of a post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

“I apologised to the minister on behalf of Meta for the error restricting PM Modi’s post,” Kaplan said.

The apology followed an earlier summons issued by India’s information technology ministry after Facebook briefly restricted the post in July.

Meta said the restriction occurred inadvertently because of an operational error.

 

What Happened To PM Modi’s Facebook Video?

 

The video was originally posted on Instagram and later shared on Facebook, where it was temporarily restricted.

The post, published on July 23, featured Modi addressing student protests connected to leaked papers in national examinations.

Meta subsequently restored access to the video and acknowledged that it had been blocked inadvertently.

By July 30, the original video had received more than 404 million views on Instagram.

 

Indian Government Summoned Meta Executives

 

India summoned Meta executives and asked the company’s senior leadership to explain how the restriction occurred.

“We have asked Meta to come in at the highest level and explain what is happening,” said S. Krishnan, Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

Meta told Indian authorities that it had established new protocols for accounts belonging to prominent individuals to help prevent similar incidents.

The company did not publicly explain the precise moderation process or technical issue that caused the restriction.

Parliamentary Committee Seeks Zuckerberg Apology

 

India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology also met Meta officials over the temporary removal of Modi’s video.

Committee chairperson Nishikant Dubey criticised Meta’s handling of the post and demanded an apology from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg.

Dubey said the committee could recommend withdrawing Meta’s safe-harbour protection under Section 79 if Zuckerberg did not apologise.

The statement represents the committee chairperson’s position and should not be presented as a final government decision to withdraw Meta’s intermediary protections.

 

Why The Facebook Restriction Matters

 

The incident raises questions about how Facebook’s content-moderation systems apply restrictions to verified and politically prominent accounts.

Although Meta attributed the incident to an operational error, it has not publicly disclosed whether an automated system, human review process, or another internal mechanism caused the restriction.

The incident is part of wider tensions between Meta and the Indian government over content moderation and material concerning the prime minister.

Separately, Zuckerberg reportedly apologised to Indian officials over child sexual abuse material, deepfake content, and other operational lapses across Meta’s platforms.

That separate apology should not be confused with Kaplan’s apology concerning the temporary restriction of Modi’s Facebook post.