A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology on Monday raised serious concerns over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s official Facebook post related to the NEET examination, saying the incident could not be brushed aside as a mere technical error and warranted a detailed explanation.
The committee, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, discussed the issue during a meeting on the subject, “Social and Digital Platforms and Their Regulation.” Representatives of Meta, Google, YouTube, Snapchat and X, along with officials from the Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), attended the meeting.
According to sources, the committee directed the ministries and social media companies to submit written replies to pending queries within 10 days to assist in preparing recommendations on strengthening the regulation of digital platforms while ensuring transparency, accountability and public confidence.
The committee sought a detailed explanation from Meta on why the Prime Minister’s official Facebook post was removed, how long it remained unavailable and what safeguards are in place to prevent similar incidents involving official government communications in future.
Members also asked Meta to provide the complete audit trail from the reporting of the content to its restoration, clarify whether the removal resulted from a technical system failure or deliberate action, and explain the role played by its automated content moderation and recommendation systems.
The panel observed that if such an incident could occur with the Prime Minister’s official account, it raised wider concerns regarding the protection available to ordinary users. It also questioned whether India’s existing legal framework governing digital intermediaries is adequate and sought the views of MeitY and the Ministry of Home Affairs on the need for stronger legal safeguards.
The committee further examined concerns relating to Meta’s content moderation practices, including alleged unexplained content removals, account restrictions and reduced visibility of pro-India and pro-government pages. It also sought clarification on whether policies relating to bullying, harassment, hate speech and coordinated abuse are being enforced fairly and without bias.
Beyond the issue involving the Prime Minister’s post, the panel reviewed the growing challenge of cybercrime. It noted that nearly 28.15 lakh cybercrime complaints involving losses of about ₹22,495 crore were reported in 2025 and questioned why online fraud was not reported as a separate category in platform compliance reports, calling for uniform reporting standards.
The committee also discussed concerns arising from a BBC Eye investigation alleging that Instagram carried advertisements linked to child sexual abuse material, as well as the increasing spread of AI-generated misinformation, deepfakes and fake investment scams on social media platforms.
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