Meta shadow-bans Delhi protest content, throttles reach, complain users

Social media users and content creators complained on Wednesday that photos and videos of ongoing student protests in Delhi were being shadow-banned on Instagram without any explanation or alert from Meta.

“Certain stories are now restricted and display the message ‘sensitive content’, even when there is nothing sensitive in them. These include clips from television broadcasts and similar fare,” Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) founder and lawyer Apar Gupta told ET.

Multiple users noted that Meta had marked Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and politician Anish Gawande's posts as 'sensitive content'.


“While this is a limited form of transparency, the fact is that a restriction is being placed, but the content standard itself is not disclosed. We are urging Meta to disclose why this is being done,” Gupta said.

For the past two days, social media has been filled with videos and photos of the clashes that broke out at the protest site with police using tear gas and lathicharges to disperse protesters. Several users said their Instagram feed is not prioritising posts on the protest.

“My discovery page on Instagram hasn’t been showing images and videos from the protest even though I have been actively consuming such content for the past few weeks,” said a user who did not wish to be named. “Some posts are flagged as `sensitive content’ but we are unable to view it even after clicking know more.”

IFF has asked Meta whether any of the reported actions are linked to legal demands from government authorities. Meta did not respond to ET’s queries at the time of publication of the story.

Account blocking

On Wednesday evening, the official Instagram account of CJP, with 25 million followers, was blocked temporarily. Meta issued a message on the handle: 'Account not available in India. This is because we complied with a legal request to restrict this content.’


Earlier that day, ET reported that Meta unblocked CJP spokesperson Saurav Das’ account after its systems mistakenly suspended it. The account was erroneously flagged by Meta's automated moderation systems and was restored once the mistake came to light.

Legal rights

While the protest took place physically in New Delhi, citizens across the country joined them online through posts and stories across social media platforms.

Legal and cyber security experts told ET that platforms hold certain censorial powers during riots or protests. However, without explanation or reasoning, such actions could violate Article 19 (1) (a) of the Constitution, which guarantees the Freedom of Speech and Expression.

“There is documented evidence that content related to atrocities and human rights abuses, which are recognised by human rights bodies and organisations like the UN, has been restricted by social media platforms,” said an industry expert.

On Monday, CJP called a ‘Chalo Sansad’ march from Jantar Mantar to parliament in Delhi over alleged irregularities in the NEET-UG examination, with protesters demanding the resignation of union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan.