Meta bows to pressure: Zuckerberg apologises to India over Modi video removal

By Anuoluwa Amao

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has issued an apology to the Indian government following a demand from a parliamentary panel over the temporary removal of a Facebook video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

The video, which showed Modi addressing students amid youth-led protests on July 23, was briefly taken down from Facebook and Instagram before being restored.

The removal triggered a swift backlash from India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, chaired by BJP lawmaker Nishikant Dubey, which branded the incident an assault on democratic values and said it was unacceptable for content from the leader of a nation of over 1.4 billion people to be pulled from the platform.

The committee gave Meta a three-day ultimatum, demanding that those responsible be identified and that Zuckerberg personally apologise or risk losing India’s “safe harbour” protection, the legal shield that protects platforms from liability over user-generated content. Losing that protection could expose Meta and its executives to legal action across the country.

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Meta initially attributed the removal to a technical glitch, restored the video, and expressed regret an explanation India’s IT Ministry rejected as insufficient, insisting the company needed to overhaul its automated systems to prevent repeat incidents.

Following the ultimatum, Meta’s chief global affairs officer said he had personally apologised to Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on the company’s behalf.

According to the latest reports, Zuckerberg has apologised to the Indian government not only for the wrongful takedown of the Modi video, but also for Meta’s handling of child sexual abuse content on its platforms and other operational lapses.

Dubey welcomed the apology as a “victory of the common citizens of India,” signaling that, at least for now, the standoff between New Delhi and the tech giant appears to be de-escalating though the committee has indicated it will continue scrutinizing the platform on other matters going forward.