Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Friday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of "making laws to protect himself from citizens of India" amid the controversy surrounding the Centre's scrutiny of Meta over content moderation and platform accountability.
In a post on X, Kejriwal alleged that the Prime Minister was "fighting his own citizens" and claimed that even his "erstwhile cheerleaders" were turning against him over issues such as paper leaks and the rollout of E20 fuel.
"Prime Minister of India is now fighting his own citizens. Making laws to protect himself from citizens of India. His own erstwhile cheerleaders are fast turning against him after becoming victims of paper leaks, E20 etc," Kejriwal wrote.
His remarks came after sources said Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg had apologised to the Indian government over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video from Facebook, as well as issues relating to Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), deepfake content and operational lapses on the platform.
According to sources quoted by news agency ANI, Zuckerberg conveyed his apology after the government raised concerns over Meta's handling of illegal content and moderation practices.
"Mark Zuckerberg sent his apologies for the CSAM content, deepfake content and errors in operating the platform. It was made clear to them that they are not covered under the Intermediary definition. They select who receives the content. Safe harbour under the IT Act is not applicable," a source said, reported ANI.
The development follows a meeting on Wednesday between a high-level Meta delegation, led by Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan, and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) Secretary S. Krishnan. During the 45-minute meeting, Meta officials explained the erroneous removal of the Prime Minister's Facebook video.
The meeting also came amid an ongoing probe into allegations that advertisements linked to Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) were promoted on Meta platforms. Sources said the company admitted that illegal content had been promoted and that paid advertisements had been targeted at a specific audience. Meta is expected to be called again to address the government's concerns.
The controversy has also drawn the attention of Parliament. The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology had earlier sought an "unqualified apology" from Zuckerberg over the removal of the Prime Minister's video and warned that Meta could lose its legal immunity in India if serious violations were established.
(With inputs from ANI)
