Meta has apologised for the temporary restriction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook post, with Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan saying he conveyed the company's apology directly to Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
"I apologised to the minister on behalf of Meta for the error restricting PM Modi's post," Kaplan said in a statement shared by Meta with NDTV.
Kaplan led Meta's global delegation during a meeting with Vaishnaw on Wednesday, where the company acknowledged lapses in the functioning of its platforms. The delegation also held separate discussions with IT Secretary S. Krishnan ahead of the ministerial meeting.
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The meetings followed the government's decision to summon Meta's global executives after Prime Minister Modi's Facebook post was briefly removed from the platform last month. Meta had attributed the incident to a technical glitch in its AI-powered automated content filtering system and later restored the post.
According to government officials cited by PTI, Meta executives also acknowledged that "a lot of money was paid for boosting a certain type of content." No further details were provided.
Government sources said the Centre questioned Meta's claim to intermediary status under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, arguing that the company's algorithms actively curate and recommend content rather than merely hosting third-party material. Based on this, officials maintained that Meta's eligibility for safe harbour protection could come under scrutiny if it fails to comply with its legal obligations.
The government also raised concerns over child sexual abuse material, deepfakes, algorithmic bias, safeguards for verified and high-profile accounts, and compliance with Indian laws, according to officials.
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The controversy stems from the temporary removal of Prime Minister Modi's Facebook post on July 23, in which he addressed young people and assured strict action against examination paper leaks. The video was first uploaded on Instagram before being shared on Facebook.
Meta later reinstated the post, saying the removal resulted from an error in its AI-driven moderation systems and apologised for the incident.
Separately, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Wednesday sought an apology from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the episode, warning that legal protections available to the company could be reviewed if an apology was not issued within three days.
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