India has summoned executives from US tech giant Meta after Facebook temporarily restricted a video post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, escalating tensions between New Delhi and one of the world's largest social media platforms.
The post — a video message by Modi addressing student protests that led to the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan — was posted on Instagram and shared on Facebook. It was briefly restricted on Facebook before being restored. A Meta spokesperson said the block was inadvertent.
S. Krishnan, secretary at India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, told reporters that the ministry had summoned top Meta officials to explain the recent incident. He added that Meta had agreed to appear and explain the situation. Krishnan noted that the government requires both a policy and technical understanding of the events, along with adjustments to address India's specific concerns.
Meta has written to the Indian government expressing regret over the incident, according to Krishnan. The company told Indian authorities that as of July 28, it has established new protocols relating to accounts of prominent persons to prevent a recurrence.
However, the Indian government does not consider Meta's explanation sufficient, according to the Press Trust of India. Krishnan did not specify which Meta officials had been requested to appear. Meta India did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment on Thursday.