Meta Platforms has apologised to the Indian government after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook post was mistakenly restricted due to an operational error. The apology comes amid growing scrutiny of the company’s content moderation practices and its relationship with Indian authorities.
According to Meta Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan, the company acknowledged the mistake and expressed regret. In an official statement, Kaplan said, “I apologised to the minister on behalf of Meta for the error restricting PM Modi’s post.”
The incident took place in July when Facebook briefly blocked a post shared by Prime Minister Modi. Following the restriction, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) summoned Meta executives to explain the issue. Meta later clarified that the restriction was unintentional and resulted from an operational error.
The development comes during a period of heightened tensions between Meta and the Indian government. Police in Hyderabad also registered a case against Meta India head Arun Srinivas over Facebook videos that allegedly portrayed Prime Minister Modi in an abusive manner. The videos circulated while the country witnessed large youth-led protests over leaked national examination papers, which ultimately led to the resignation of the education minister.
Separately, local media reported that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also apologised to Indian government officials over concerns involving child sexual abuse material, deepfake content, and other operational issues across Meta’s platforms. However, Meta did not immediately comment on those reports.
Earlier in July, the Indian government directed Meta to remove advertisements and content promoting child sexual abuse material on Instagram. Responding to the directive, Meta reiterated its commitment to user safety.
In its official statement, the company said it has a “zero-tolerance policy on child sexual abuse material” and is “continuing to strengthen its detection systems.”
The latest developments highlight the increasing focus on digital platform accountability in India as authorities continue to push global technology companies for stronger content moderation and compliance with local regulations.
