India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has summoned Meta's President of Global Affairs, Joel Kaplan, to appear in person regarding the company's removal of a reel posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The reel, posted on July 23 during nationwide protests over the NEET-UG paper leak, was briefly taken down before being restored the same day. MeitY called Meta's explanation for the removal "not reasonable," escalating the issue to the company's global leadership, according to medianama.com.
The reel, which featured Modi addressing students with promises of fast-track courts and stricter penalties, attracted nearly 400 million views before its removal. Meta attributed the takedown to a technical glitch in its automated content filters and restored the post the same day. However, MeitY concluded that Meta's local policy team failed to adequately communicate India's concerns to its headquarters. MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan sent the summons via email on Tuesday, signaling the government's insistence on a detailed explanation.
The government highlighted key issues, including Meta's failure to distinguish an official account from unofficial ones despite advanced content moderation and recommendation tools. Officials expect Meta to explain how such a detection failure occurred on a platform with sophisticated technology. Meta has proposed to ring-fence high-profile accounts to prevent similar incidents, but the government remains unsatisfied with the current response, underscoring the seriousness of content moderation challenges amid politically sensitive events.
The summons to Joel Kaplan marks a significant step in India's regulatory approach toward global tech firms. The government’s insistence on direct engagement with Meta's global leadership reflects heightened scrutiny of content moderation practices, especially during politically charged moments. The next scheduled interaction between MeitY and Meta's leadership will be closely watched for further developments.