MeitY summons Meta over removal of PM Modi's Facebook post, says "technical glitch" explanation not fully acceptable
New Delhi, July 28
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has summoned Meta after an authorised Facebook post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was briefly taken down, with Secretary S Krishnan tellingin an exclusive interview that the company's explanation of a "technical error" does not appear to be acceptable in its entirety.
The post in question was a late-night video message from PM Modi assuring stricter action against paper leaks, in which he said the Union Cabinet would discuss stringent measures and that the government would push to get a Bill passed in Parliament. The video went briefly "unavailable" on Facebook before being restored. A Meta spokesperson had earlier said, "The content was removed in error and has since been restored."
Reacting to the incident, Krishnan said the removal of authorised content from the Prime Minister's verified handle was "extremely disturbing" and should never have happened. He welcomed Meta's unconditional apology as "a good step", but made clear that the ministry was not fully satisfied with the company's explanation.
"What was done was wrong," Krishnan said, adding that while Meta had apologised, the explanation citing a technical glitch in its content-discovery algorithm "does not appear to be an acceptable explanation in its entirety".
He said MeitY had sought more details from Meta and would hold a detailed technical meeting to understand exactly how the error occurred.
The Secretary said the ministry would seek firm assurances from Meta that handles of prominent personalities in India be ring-fenced, and that once an account is verified, content posted on it should not be removed over "flimsy grounds" or algorithmic mistakes. "We will follow this up to see that there are systemic corrections to ensure that such instances do not recur," he said.
Asked separately about discussions with Meta over WhatsApp's proposed username feature, Krishnan said the ministry had received explanations from WhatsApp and other platforms that use usernames, and that these responses were being examined. "We will address the issue in due course," he said.
— ANI
Reader Comments
I understand the Ministry's concern, but let's not overreact. Tech companies do have occasional glitches. The video was restored quickly, and Meta apologized. Instead of wasting time on this, the government should focus on real issues like paper leaks and exam reforms.
Finally, MeitY is taking a strong stand! These platforms have been playing games with Indian content for too long. Remember how they handled COVID-19 information? We need our own Indian social media platforms. Jai Hind! 🇮🇳
As someone who works in tech, I can confirm that automated content moderation systems do have bugs. But I also agree that Meta should have better safeguards for verified official accounts. This incident highlights the need for AI systems to have human oversight, especially for critical content from world leaders.
It's not just about PM Modi - this is about the government sending a message to Big Tech: India won't be pushed around! Facebook and WhatsApp have billions of Indian users. They need to respect our laws and leaders. Well done, MeitY! 👏
I get that it's embarrassing for the government, but this feels like political grandstanding. Let's have a sensible discussion about algorithm accountability without turning it into a nationalism vs tech debate. These platforms are too important for our digital economy to treat them as adversaries.
We welcome thoughtful discussions from our readers. Please keep comments respectful and on-topic.