New Delhi: A parliamentary standing committee has recommended that social media companies should lose their “safe-harbour” legal protection if they refuse to comply with Indian laws and fail to control illegal or anti-national content.
The committee’s discussion gained attention after a video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Facebook—aimed at advising students—was removed suddenly and restored about five hours later. Following the incident, the panel suggested that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg should issue an apology.
A meeting on regulating social media was held in Delhi under the chairmanship of BJP Lok Sabha MP Nishikant Dubey, who heads the standing committee on communications and information technology. Representatives of Meta, Google, X and YouTube attended the session.
Dubey said the Information Technology Act was enacted in 2000, when social media platforms did not exist, and the safe-harbour provision was meant for internet service providers. He alleged that some platforms now enjoy the same protection while showing negligence in removing child sexual abuse material, content degrading women, and AI-generated fake videos.
He also claimed certain platforms give priority to content against the government and democracy, and do not disclose details such as the number of users using VPN services that help mask location. He termed the blocking of the Prime Minister’s video as a matter of concern and praised Telangana Chief Minister Revanth Reddy for taking action in the matter.
