Indian parliamentary panel demands Meta CEO Zuckerberg apologize within 72 hours or face safe harbor revocation

Published Aug 7, 03:50 AM UTC

Meta is under intense pressure from Indian regulators after briefly restricting a Facebook post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the July Gen Z protests. An Indian parliamentary panel, led by Nishikant Dubey, has demanded an apology from CEO Mark Zuckerberg within three days, threatening to revoke Meta's safe harbor immunity if he fails to comply. Such immunity protects platforms from liability for user-generated content. Meta's chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, has apologized for the error, but the panel insists on a direct apology from Zuckerberg. Legal experts warn that losing safe harbor protection would make it nearly impossible for Meta to operate in India, its largest market by user base for WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook. However, revoking the immunity would require amendments to existing Indian laws. The dispute follows earlier government warnings over child abuse content on Instagram and a username feature on WhatsApp.