Sources had said that Meta claimed that its automated filters inadvertently ended up briefly removing the original post itself
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Meta’s global team who have been summoned by the government next week, will need to clarify on issues around algorithmic bias, role in public order and also for briefly restricting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook post, sources said on Friday.“Keeping all these aspects in mind, steps that are needed will to be taken,” a senior government official said adding that the government was serious about these issues.Sources further said that Meta’s global team is expected sometime in the middle of next week.While the US-headquartered social media giant had attributed the incident to a technical glitch and apologised, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had found the explanation “inadequate”. The company also went into say that the content was removed “in error” and was restored on the platform.In the immediate aftermath of the issue, Meta had informed MeitY that posts by the Prime Minister and select prominent accounts will be subject to additional oversight on the platform, with multiple levels of checks involving senior company officials.Meta wrote to the government outlining the specifics of enhanced and rigorous safeguards it implemented (on July 28) for content posted by PM Modi and other prominent accounts. It is learnt that Meta officials had attributed the error to AI-powered automated content filters reviewing shared posts and subsequent videos that circulated following the original post by the Prime Minister.Sources had said that Meta claimed that its automated filters inadvertently ended up briefly removing the original post itself.However, government sources on Friday pointed out that the matter is not just about technical aspects, but about “national security and public order” and therefore, the Mark Zuckerberg owned platform needs to explain and make sure that such error is not repeated in future.impact of social mediaGovernment sources also said that when rules and laws are violated, liabilities are bound to arise. Further, they said that the impact of social media on society is well-documented. They also cited studies indicating the extent to which excessive use of social media can adversely affect the cognitive and mental well-being of children and adults.By summoning global executives, the Centre also wants to ensure that Meta’s leadership — all the way to the top — is made fully aware of concerns being raised by Indian authorities. The summoning of global executives, rather than only local representatives, underscores the Centre’s intent to directly engage Meta’s international leadership on platform accountability, source said.Meanwhile, a Parliamentary panel has also summoned representatives of major social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat, along with officials of MeitY and Home Affairs, on August 3 to discuss regulation of social media and digital platforms.The agenda includes a briefing by government officials and representatives of the major technology platforms on the subject of “Social and digital platforms and their regulation”. The discussions are expected to focus on user safety, privacy protections and the role of online platforms in maintaining public order.Published on July 31, 2026
