IT ministry summons Meta over deletion of PM Modi's video on Facebook

Meta on Tuesday said that Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video, which was briefly restricted on Facebook in India, was blocked due to an "error" and has since been restored.

A Meta spokesperson said the restriction was unintentional and that access to the video has now been reinstated.
Meta releases a statement on blocking PM Modi's video on Facebook.

"The content was removed in error and has since been restored." says a Meta Spokesperson.

According to government sources, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) has summoned Meta's global head of public policy.

In the early hours of Tuesday, PM Modi's selfie video addressing students and Gen Z protesters linked to the ongoing Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests became inaccessible to users on Facebook. The video had been posted on July 23, in which the Prime Minister had said that "stricter action against paper leaks will be announced at tomorrow's Cabinet meeting."

According to media reports, Facebook initially restricted the video following what appeared to be a legal request. At around 1:25 am on Tuesday, the "See Why" option on the post displayed a notice stating that the content had been restricted in India in response to a legal request.

The notice, however, did not specify the legal provision invoked or identify the authority that had made the request.

PM Modi's latest Instagram reel has set a new record for the most-viewed reel within the first 24 hours of being posted, crossing 303 million views and surpassing the previous record of 300 million. The video has since garnered around 396 million views on Instagram.

Modi is currently the world's most-followed political leader on Instagram, with more than 105 million followers.