The Parliamentary Committee on Communications and Information Technology has issued a three-day ultimatum to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, demanding an apology over the brief removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's July 23 video from Facebook and action against those responsible for the incident, according to India Today.
According to sources cited by India Today, the committee warned that if Meta fails to comply within the stipulated three-day period, the Government of India may consider revoking Facebook's Safe Harbor protection. Such a move could expose officials of the social media platform to direct criminal prosecution under Indian law.
The panel, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, described the deletion of Prime Minister Modi's video as an "attack on democracy", stating that it amounted to targeting the elected representative of 1.4 billion Indians.
According to India Today, the committee viewed the incident as a serious matter with broader implications for democratic institutions.
As reported by India Today, revoking Facebook's Safe Harbor protection would pave the way for First Information Reports (FIRs) to be registered directly against officials of the social media platform, significantly increasing their legal liability.
The controversy began after Prime Minister Modi's video, originally uploaded on Instagram and later shared on Facebook, was briefly removed from the platform on July 23.
According to India Today, the selfie-style video marked the Prime Minister's first direct address in that format and included a promise of stringent action against paper leaks amid student protests led by the satirical Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Meta temporarily restricted the Facebook version of the video before restoring it following widespread public backlash.
Earlier this week, the Parliamentary Committee summoned Meta officials to explain the incident. According to India Today, the company apologised and attributed the temporary removal of the video to a "technical glitch."
However, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology rejected the explanation, describing it as "not reasonable." The Ministry stated that if the incident was indeed caused by a technical error, Meta, as a technology company, should strengthen its systems to ensure such lapses do not occur in the future.
In a separate directive, the Parliamentary Committee has also instructed several major digital platforms—including Google, YouTube, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and Snapchat—to remove Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material (CSEAM) as well as objectionable content targeting women within three days. According to India Today, the panel warned that strict action could be initiated against platforms that fail to comply with the directive.
Meanwhile, Telangana Police have registered separate FIRs against Google and Meta over unrelated allegations. According to India Today, Google has been accused of hosting fraudulent financial applications, while Meta has been booked over the circulation of a fake video involving Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The developments underscore growing regulatory scrutiny of major technology companies in India, with authorities placing increasing emphasis on platform accountability, content moderation, and compliance with the country's digital governance framework, India Today reported.