India presses Meta after Modi post block and apology dispute
What's next: lawmakers warned Meta could lose Safe Harbor protections in India if its leadership does not satisfy the government's demands.
India escalated pressure on Meta after Facebook briefly restricted a July post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, despite the company restoring it and apologizing for what it called a technical or operational error. Antara reported an Indian parliamentary communications and IT committee gave CEO Mark Zuckerberg three days to deliver an in-person apology, while Channel News Asia reported Joel Kaplan had already apologized to the IT minister on Meta's behalf. The dispute comes amid wider tensions over online content tied to Modi, including government scrutiny of child sexual abuse material and deepfakes on Meta's platforms. Indian authorities have also summoned Meta executives to explain the incident.