Meta Public Policy head summoned tomorrow over brief removal of PM's post

Officials are expected to raise concerns over multiple complaints alleging that some posts, including those perceived as critical of the government, receive disproportionate traction.Earlier, Meta apologised for the brief removal of PM's video. (File photo)The Centre has summoned Meta's Head of Public Policy, Joel Kaplan, and an Instagram technical official for a meeting on August 5, top government sources told India Today. According to the sources, the government wants to understand how Meta's algorithm works and why certain content receives greater visibility on its platforms, making the latest summons part of a wider regulatory review of the social media giant.Officials are expected to raise concerns over multiple complaints alleging that some posts, including those perceived as critical of the government, receive disproportionate traction.Officials said the government wants a written submission from Meta explaining the "technical glitch" cited by the company and is also likely to seek a written apology over the removal of the Prime Minister’s post from the platform.According to sources, the government wants to understand how Meta’s algorithms work and whether they are influencing the visibility of political content. Multiple complaints alleging that certain anti-government posts receive disproportionate traction on Meta-owned platforms have also been received. The meetings are expected to examine the company’s recommendation systems, content amplification mechanisms and safeguards against erroneous takedowns.IT Secretary S Krishnan confirmed that Meta executives would meet government representatives on August 5 and 6 and said a range of compliance and safety issues would be discussed. "Meta executives are expected to meet govt representatives on 5th and 6th August. Issues related to India’s law, compliance issues, synthetically generated information, safeguards on content take downs related to prominent personalities are expected to be taken up," news agency PTI quoted Krishnan as saying.The agenda will also include alleged lapses in tackling Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) in paid advertisements on Instagram, an issue on which the government had earlier issued a notice to Meta.Krishnan said the Centre wanted clarity on why some of the company’s systems were not functioning as intended."There are a range of issues...the CSAM issue was raised, so what measures have been taken regarding that, and synthetically generated information ... to what extent that is being looked at. Then, of course, for prominent personalities, when they have verified accounts, if content has to be taken down, there have to be safeguards...all of these will be the issues," he said.Krishnan said the government wanted Meta to explain why certain systems were not operating as intended and to outline the difficulties or limitations the company was facing in ensuring they functioned properly.PM MODI'S VIDEO WAS TAKEN DOWNThe controversy erupted after a selfie video posted by Prime Minister Modi on July 23, in which he addressed student protesters and promised strict action against examination paper leaks, was briefly removed from Facebook before being restored.Meta later apologised and said the content had been "removed in error" due to a technical problem. Government sources, however, said the explanation was being examined closely.AI-GENERATED CONTENT UNDER SCANNERSeparately, Meta is facing legal scrutiny over alleged AI-generated morphed videos of the Prime Minister circulated on Facebook and Instagram.The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police registered an FIR against Meta India head Arun Srinivas and several social media users earlier this week.Investigators are examining the origin of the manipulated videos, how they were amplified online and whether Meta’s safeguards were adequate to prevent their spread. Possible violations under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) and the Information Technology Act are being examined.The August 5–6 meetings are expected to shape the next phase of the government’s engagement with Meta as India intensifies oversight of major digital platforms on issues of algorithmic accountability, political content moderation, child safety, AI-generated misinformation and compliance with Indian law.- EndsPublished By: Prateek ChakrabortyPublished On: Aug 4, 2026 16:16 IST