Meta is facing growing regulatory pressure in India after two incidents involving its platforms triggered scrutiny from lawmakers and government officials.
The company briefly restricted a Facebook post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing students during July’s Gen Z protests. Meta later attributed the restriction to an error, although the post initially indicated it had been blocked following a legal request.
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The incident came shortly after Indian regulators summoned Meta over concerns about child-abuse content on its platforms.
Three-Day Apology Demand
A parliamentary panel has given Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg three days to apologise for the restriction of Modi’s post. If he does not, the panel has recommended removing Meta’s safe-harbour protection in India.
Safe harbour generally protects online platforms from liability for user-generated content, subject to certain legal requirements.
India is a key market for Meta, with the country representing its largest user base for WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook. Legal experts said losing this protection could make operating in India significantly more difficult, although removing it across the entire platform would require changes to the existing legal framework.
Meta Seeks To Ease Tensions
Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan met with Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Wednesday and apologised for the error involving Modi’s post.
Indian media also reported that Zuckerberg had apologised over child-abuse content, deepfakes and other platform issues, although Meta did not confirm those reports.
The company is expected to hold further meetings with Indian officials as authorities assess its compliance with local regulations.
Safe-Harbour Rules Under Scrutiny
Under Indian law, platforms can lose safe-harbour protection in certain circumstances, including failures to remove unlawful material following government or court orders or breaches involving child sexual abuse material, deepfakes and hate speech.
Technology lawyer Udit Mendiratta said the current framework generally applies loss of immunity to specific content or violations. Removing protection for an entire platform would require legislative changes.
For Meta, the dispute comes as its platforms play an increasingly important role in India’s public discourse, bringing both significant commercial opportunities and greater regulatory scrutiny.
