Parliamentary panel calls Google, Meta, X, Snapchat for discussion on digital platforms regulation

The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology will meet on August 3 to examine the regulation of social and digital platforms.

Senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA), along with representatives from Google, Meta, X, and Snapchat, have been asked to brief the panel on the same.

Meta under scrutiny


The meeting comes after Meta briefly removed a Facebook video of prime minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday.

In a statement, a Meta spokesperson said, "The content was removed in error and has since been restored," attributing the removal to a technical glitch.

Following the incident, MeitY summoned Meta's global public policy executive, sources told ET.

About the video

Modi had posted the video on July 23 as part of his outreach to young people during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP)-led protests over alleged irregularities in the conduct of the NEET 2026 examination.

In the video, Modi promised strict action against exam paper leaks He said the union cabinet would discuss new measures and that the government planned to introduce legislation in parliament to prevent such incidents in future.

Subsequently, the Centre introduced the Public Examinations (Prevention of Unfair Means) Amendment Bill, 2026, which proposes tougher punishment for offenders, including imprisonment of up to 10 years, enhanced fines, and the establishment of special fast-track courts to try offences under the Act.

The student protests ended on July 25 after union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan resigned.

The Centre also promised the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and activist Sonam Wangchuk that it will withdraw cases against protesters and stop police intimidation.

Government targets anti-Modi posts

Meanwhile, the government has issued notices to social media platforms to remove objectionable videos, posts, and comments targeting Modi, most of them linked to the recent protests, officials told ET on Monday.

Officials said MeitY has been processing content takedown requests under section 69A of the Information Technology Act. They added that other government bodies, including the MHA and Delhi Police, have also sought content to be blocked per section 79 of the Act.

Section 69A allows the government to block online content on grounds such as protecting India's sovereignty and integrity, national security, friendly relations with foreign countries, and public order.

Under section 79 (3) (b), different ministries can issue blocking requests through the Sahyog portal.