Meta Apologises After Briefly Blocking PM Modi's Video, Cites Technical Glitch

Meta has apologised to the Indian government after a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi was temporarily blocked on Facebook in India, sources familiar with the matter have confirmed. The company attributed the removal to a technical glitch.

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson said: 'The content was removed in error and has since been restored.'

According to sources, the government is treating the incident seriously and is examining both Meta's explanation and the circumstances that led to the video's removal. Meta representatives and concerned officials may be summoned to provide further explanation, the sources added.

News agency IANS reported that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) summoned Meta and Instagram's global heads over the temporary blocking of the video.

The video, uploaded on July 23, featured PM Modi's address to Gen Z during a student protest organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). In his speech, the Prime Minister announced that the government would introduce tougher measures to tackle examination paper leaks, including stronger legal provisions before the Union Cabinet.

He said directions had been issued to set up Fast-Track Courts, and a draft law proposing stringent punishment and special courts for paper leak cases would be placed before the Cabinet before being introduced in Parliament. The Prime Minister also noted that the government had ensured that the academic year of nearly 22 lakh students remained unaffected, stressing that 'nothing is more important than the welfare and future of our youth.'

Before the video was restored, users in India saw a notice stating that the content had been withheld in the region following a legal request. The address had garnered millions of views before access was briefly restricted on Facebook in the early hours of Tuesday.