The complaints claim the comments contain offensive language, ridicule, and indecent remarks directed at the prime minister
Indian police have registered a case against Meta’s country head and several Facebook and Instagram users over posts deemed offensive toward Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Police are preparing to send a notice to Meta Platforms India head Arun Srinivas following complaints by two individuals, reports said citing senior officials of the cyber crimes unit in Hyderabad. The southern city hosts Meta’s main operations hub in the country.
The videos were reportedly posted during the student protests in New Delhi earlier this month that led to the resignation of the federal education minister.
The complainants alleged that the posts “contain offensive language, ridicule, and indecent remarks directed at the Hon’ble Prime Minister and other individuals” and also appear to have been digitally altered or AI-generated.
New Delhi has tightened content rules that protect online platforms from liability over user-generated content. Since February, platforms have been asked to remove unlawful content flagged by courts or the government within three hours. The window was previously 36 hours.
Earlier this week, Meta assured the government that safeguards had been put in place after a video posted from Narendra Modi’s account was briefly blocked on Facebook.
A Meta team will reportedly soon meet government officials to discuss key issues, including content regulation.
A parliamentary panel has also summoned representatives of Meta, X, Google, and Snapchat to discuss user privacy and public order.
Earlier this month, India raised concerns over the rollout of a new username feature by the messaging app WhatsApp, also owned by Meta, calling it a potential cybersecurity risk. WhatsApp is the top messaging platform in the country of 1.4 billion, with more than 500 million users.
In June, New Delhi temporarily banned the Telegram app, claiming it was a key facilitator of the leak of questions in a national entrance exam, which triggered student protests.
The combined user base of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp in India is more than 1.15 billion, making it Meta’s largest market.
The development also comes as student protests ignite a debate in the country about the surveillance technology that law enforcement agencies use to tackle unrest and how it holds up to scrutiny under Indian law.
