New Delhi: The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has said it is not fully satisfied with Meta’s explanation for the removal of a video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Facebook.
The video, first shared on Instagram on July 23 and later posted on Facebook, was aimed at engaging young people. In it, the Prime Minister assured that the Centre would take strict action in connection with the alleged leak of the NEET undergraduate medical entrance exam question paper. The post was later taken down from Facebook.
Following the incident, the ministry issued a summons to Meta’s global head of public policy, seeking an in-person explanation for why the content from the Prime Minister’s official page was removed.
IT Ministry Secretary Krishnan said the temporary deletion of official information from the Prime Minister’s verified page was regrettable and should not have happened. While the ministry welcomed Meta’s unconditional apology as a positive first step, it has sought additional details and said a detailed technical consultation will be held to understand how the error occurred.
The ministry also said it would seek assurances from Meta that accounts of key public figures in India will be protected and that content from verified accounts will not be removed for minor reasons or due to algorithmic errors. It added that it would continue monitoring to ensure such incidents do not recur, and noted that Meta has also provided an explanation regarding the introduction of a user mode in WhatsApp, which will be examined.
