Meta restores Kerala CM Satheesan's Facebook posts hours after takedown

Meta restored two posts from Kerala Chief Minister V D Satheesan's official Facebook page, one announcing Onam festival allowance for ASHA workers and another offering Nabi Day greetings, after the CMO intervened over their removal.Chief Minister of Kerala, VD Satheesan during the press conference at Kerala House in New Delhi on May 26, 2026. Photo by Arun KumarMeta, the parent company of Facebook, restored two official posts that were removed from the Kerala Chief Minister's Office's Facebook page, CMO Keralam, Chief Minister V D Satheesan said on Saturday, after his office intervened with the social media company and the Union IT Ministry.The two posts, which were restored following the intervention, concerned the announcement of an Onam festival allowance for ASHA workers and greetings on the occasion of Nabi Day.Satheesan said the posts were restored after his office took up the matter with Meta."Following strong intervention from the Keralam CMO, @Meta has restored the official posts arbitrarily removed from @CMOKeralam's Facebook page," the Chief Minister said in a post on X. "While the content is back online, the arbitrary takedown of verified government communications ranging from festival greetings to welfare notices remains a serious concern," he said.CMO SEEKS FORMAL EXPLANATIONThe CMO said its Secretary, Rattan U Kelkar, IAS, had taken up the matter with Meta as well as the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). The office has sought a formal explanation under the IT Act for the removal of the posts. It has also sought clarity on whether the content was taken down through an automated or manual action.The CMO has further sought safeguards to ensure that official government communication handles are protected from such removals in the future.CMO HAD EARLIER APPROACHED META, IT MINISTRYEarlier on Saturday, before the posts were restored, the CMO had written to Meta and the Union IT Ministry over their removal.The office had asked Meta to restore the posts and explain the reason for taking them down as required under the IT law. It had also sought clarity on the circumstances that led to their removal.In a letter sent by Kelkar, the Union IT Ministry was requested to intervene and ensure that such removals do not occur.Following the intervention, Meta restored both posts, according to Satheesan. The CMO, however, has sought a formal explanation from the company over why the verified government communications were removed in the first place.- EndsWith inputs from PTIPublished On: Sep 5, 2026 22:54 IST