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Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology Chairperson Nishikant Dubey on Monday said the committee has taken a serious view of removal from Facebook last month of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video on action against examination paper leaks and Meta founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg should tender an apologise and if this is not done the safe harbour protection under Section 79 "should be withdrawn".
Talking to reporters after a meeting of the panel, Dubey also raised questions about the viewership algorithm of big social media companies, saying "they have a policy of giving preference to newcomers". Dubey, BJP MP from Godda, said Meta had admitted that the content of PM's video was missing for over four hours. "Meta India removed the Prime Minister's content. This is not the first time Meta India has done this. If you recall, Zuckerberg himself made a statement in January regarding the 2024 elections and later apologized. This shows that his intention is to destabilise the country. When a video of the Prime Minister of India can be removed, and they themselves admitted that the content was missing for five hours, from 12:30 am to 5:00 am, this is a very serious matter," he said. "Our committee has said two things and has clearly stated that the apology should come from Zuckerberg. If Zuckerberg does not give it, then the safe harbour protection under Section 79 should be withdrawn from him," he added. The Meta-owned social media platform restricted access to the PM Modi's video last month before restoring it. The video, released on July 23, marked Prime Minister Modi's first direct address to Gen Z during the 36-day-long Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led student agitation over the NEET-UG 2026 examination irregularities. In the video, the Prime Minister assured students that the government would take stronger action against examination paper leaks, saying stricter legal provisions would be brought before the Union Cabinet. Dubey said CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) is another issue. "YouTube also has that content. Meta also has that content, and they do not remove content related to child abuse. They do not remove content related to women. Both these rules of the Government of India are very strict, and on top of that, they do not listen to the Home Ministry. They do not listen to the IT Ministry either," he said. "So, we have said that in all these matters, and in many other matters, you know that the Chief Minister of the Congress government of Telangana has filed an FIR against Meta India. We have said that safe harbour should be removed in all these matters," he added. He said there is a need to understand the situation "that has arisen within the algorithm". "What Meta India did, what X did, and what YouTube did is a matter that the country should know. If you look at the viewership algorithm of the BJP, Congress, Samajwadi Party, and Aam Aadmi Party, the viewership is only 23 million. And those who are neither registered parties nor registered NGOs, their algorithm is 27 million," he said. "All political parties together are at 23-24 million. An anti-reservation forum has just been formed five or six days ago, and it reached 7 million. The reason for that is that they have a policy of giving preference to newcomers," he added. According to the agenda of the meeting, representatives of Snapchat, Google, X (formerly Twitter), Meta (Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram) and YouTube on will brief the committee on the subject being examined by it. Home Secretary Govind Mohan was among senior officials present during the meeting. The committee had held two meetings last month and deliberated on 'Self Reliance in Telecom Manufacturing Sector'. It was also briefed by officials of Information and Broadcasting Ministry on 'Review of functioning of Prasar Bharati Organization'. Meta had said on July 28 that PM Modi's Facebook video on action against examination paper leaks was removed due to a technical error and was restored. "The content was removed in error and has since been restored," a Meta spokesperson had said in a statement. The cabinet last month approved the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026. The Bill has since been passed by the both Houses of Parliament. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has also summoned Meta over the brief taking down of PM Modi's, with Secretary S Krishnan stating that the company's explanation of a "technical error" does not appear to be acceptable in its entirety. (ANI)
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