India gives Zuckerberg 3-day ultimatum over Modi video takedown

India's parliamentary committee on communications and information technology has given Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg a three-day ultimatum to apologize and take action against those responsible for the temporary removal of a video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on July 23.

The panel has warned that failure to act within the deadline could see Meta stripped of its "safe harbour" legal protections, with the company and Zuckerberg himself facing criminal prosecution.

The committee, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, branded the takedown "an assault on democracy." Withdrawing Meta's safe harbour status, the panel noted, would clear the way for authorities to file a First Information Report (FIR) directly against the platform's officials, with the central government's backing.

The video in question — Modi's first-ever selfie-style clip, addressing young people on the issue of leaked exam papers — was briefly restricted by Meta before being swiftly restored following a public backlash. Meta apologized earlier this week, attributing the removal to a technical glitch, but India's IT ministry dismissed the explanation as unsatisfactory.

The committee also issued a stern warning to Meta and other major platforms over their failure to curb child sexual abuse material online. Google, YouTube, X, Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and Snapchat were put on explicit notice that violations of India's child-safety laws would result in criminal cases being filed against them.

Citing National Crime Records Bureau data, Dubey said cybercrimes against children were rising sharply. He described sexual abuse of children and the spread of AI-generated obscene content targeting women as heinous offences, and urged all platforms to comply strictly with the law.


Source: NDTV