India summoned executives from Meta on July 30, 2026, demanding an explanation for why Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook post was briefly restricted on the platform [1, 2, 3].
The restricted content was a video message posted by Modi on Instagram on July 23, which was subsequently shared on Facebook [1, 2, 3]. The video addressed massive student protests that had erupted across the country, protests that led to the resignation of Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan two days later, on July 25 [1, 2]. Modi’s video has attracted over 404 million views on Instagram alone [1, 2].
Meta acknowledged the restriction was an inadvertent or erroneous block of the post [1, 2, 3]. Amid the controversy, Meta said it established new protocols on July 28 to govern how accounts of prominent persons are handled, aiming to prevent similar incidents in the future [1, 2, 3]. "They've also indicated that as of 28th of July, they have established new protocols relating to accounts of prominent persons to avoid such a situation from recurring," said S. Krishnan, Secretary at India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology [3].
Despite Meta’s explanation and the new rules, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology considers Meta’s response insufficient and has demanded a higher-level engagement to clarify the situation. Krishnan stated, "We have asked Meta to come in at the highest level and explain what is happening and why the kind of issues that we see" [3].
The sequence began on July 23 with Modi’s video, followed by the minister’s resignation and then Meta’s protocol update on July 28. India’s official summons came two days later. Meta’s next scheduled engagement with Indian authorities will be closely watched for further resolution [1, 2, 3].
