NEW DELHI — In the wake of intense governmental scrutiny over the brief restriction of a Facebook post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, tech giant Meta has written to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) outlining an overhauled, multi-tiered safeguard framework for high-profile accounts in India.
According to sources familiar with the development, Meta informed federal authorities that future content posted by Prime Minister Modi and select prominent accounts will be subjected to additional oversight mechanisms. Under the newly implemented protocol, any moderation action involving these accounts must undergo rigorous checks and receive approval from at least two senior company officials before being executed.
The policy shift follows a high-level meeting on Tuesday, during which MeitY officials summoned Meta’s global head of public policy to express strong displeasure over the incident.
The controversy stems from a July 23 selfie video originally posted by PM Modi on Instagram and subsequently cross-posted to Facebook. In the video, the Prime Minister addressed India’s youth, promising strict measures against national exam paper leaks amid ongoing student protests. Shortly after posting, Meta’s automated systems briefly restricted access to the Facebook video before restoring it.
Meta subsequently expressed regret and attributed the temporary removal to an automated artificial intelligence filter glitch. The company explained that AI tools flagging secondary posts and user-shared derivative content accidentally triggered moderation filters against the original post itself.
However, the Indian government deemed Meta’s initial technical explanation "inadequate" and "not reasonable."
Speaking on the matter on Tuesday, IT Secretary S. Krishnan noted that while Meta had acknowledged its mistake and issued an apology, the government expected greater accountability and a deeper technical audit. Federal officials emphasized that if AI automation caused the error, Meta must urgently refine its algorithms rather than treat the matter as settled.
By summoning global policy executives rather than relying solely on local India representatives, the Ministry sought to ensure that Meta's top global leadership is directly briefed on regulatory expectations in India.
Beyond outlining its new multi-level manual review process, Meta shared a detailed internal assessment and corrective roadmap with MeitY. A team of senior Meta executives is scheduled to hold further in-person deliberations with ministry officials in New Delhi late this week or early next week to formally address the government's notice.
