Menu
search

Meta succumbing to pressure? Users flag ‘blanket ban’ on content critical of PM Modi, central government

Several activists, including CJP leaders and journalists, have complained that their posts have been taken down by Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram citing "legal" reasons.

South First Desk

Published Aug 07, 2026 | 3:43 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 07, 2026 | 3:58 PM

Meta owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.

Meta owns Instagram, Facebook and WhatsApp.

Make Us Your Preferred Source on Google

Synopsis: Is Meta cracking down on content critical of the Indian government after a brief restriction on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook post triggered protests from the government? The government has warned Meta to comply with local laws, threatening to revoke legal “safe harbour” protections.

Amid tensions between the BJP-led Union Government and tech giant Meta over the brief restriction of a video posted on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s social media handle, several users have complained that platforms like Instagram and Facebook are taking down posts critical of the government, citing legal requests from the authorities.

The action followed meetings between Meta officials and government representatives, including Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav.

The tensions were triggered by Meta’s brief restriction of a Facebook post by PM Modi addressing students during the CJP-led protests in July. The platform initially showed that the content was restricted due to a “legal request ” but later the company claimed that it was caused by an “error.” This sparked strong reactions from the BJP and the government, which threatened to revoke the tech firm’s safe harbour immunity in the country.

Demand for apology

Amid the Cockroach Janta Party-led protests against examination irregularities, which dealt an unprecedented blow to the Modi-led government, the prime minister entered the Instagram game, seeking to grab the attention of the Gen Z, who had made social media a hotspot for protest mobilisation.

The prime minister’s first such post on July 23, was removed by Facebook and was restored later. Meta attributed the incident to a technical glitch and apologised. However, the BJP government was not ready to let go of the incident.

BJP leader and chair of the parliamentary panel on communications and information technology, Nishikant Dubey, demanded that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg should apologise for the incident and gave a three-day ultimatum. He threatened that the government would revoke the firm’s safe harbour immunity in the country, which would lead to a “nationwide flood” of formal police complaints against Meta, making it impossible for the tech giant to function here.

Amid the intense pressure and fear of losing business in one of its greatest global markets, Meta officials conducted a series of meetings with the government representatives.

Joel Kaplan, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, met Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnav on August 5 and held an over 45-minute-long meeting. After the talks, Kaplan reportedly said that he had apologised to the minister on behalf of the company “for the error restricting PM Modi’s post.” According to media reports, the Meta team is expected to stay in India and conduct more meetings with the government officials.

Also Read: GenZ has obvious contempt for BJP and PM Modi; borrowing their lingo alone won’t change it

Crackdown on critical content

What reportedly followed Meta’s apology was also a crackdown on content critical of the government in India. Several activists, including CJP leaders and journalists, have complained that their posts have been taken down by Facebook and Instagram citing “legal” reasons.

Calling it a “blanket ban,” CJP leader Saurav Das questioned the removal of content critiquing the prime minister.

“Turns out my content on Instagram too was restricted in India. What is this blanket ban on protest related and Modi related content? It is unconstitutional and illegal. It is absolutely ridiculous,” he said in a post on X, along with screenshots of Instagram notifications saying his content has been removed due to legal constraints.

The CJP spokesperson also appealed to the social media giant not to succumb to the government pressure and highlighted the importance of free speech.

“We appeal to @Meta to not succumb to such high-handed pressure from the government. Algos must moderate grossly illegal content, not police free expression. The entire point of free internet is this. Any social media platform doing this under pressure is going against free speech principles and public interest,” he said.

Alt News co-founder and journalist Mohammed Zubair also shared that several of his posts have been removed by Instagram.

Several other pages posting content critical of the government and the prime minister have also shared screenshots of their posts being removed by Facebook and Instagram citing legal reasons. Those living abroad have noted their content have been blocked in India.

Meta is yet to make any official comment on the issue.

(Compiled by Fayisa CA)

journalist-ad