Meta restricts PM Modi’s Facebook video to youth amid CJP protests, restores it later and apologises for ‘error’

On Tuesday, Meta said a video posted on Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook account was “accidentally” removed and has since been restored. The Meta-owned platform briefly restricted access to the video in the early hours of July 28.

The video can be watched again for users in India after the temporary restriction is lifted.

The video featured PM Modi’s speech to Generation Z

The video, released on July 23, featured Prime Minister Modi’s first address to Gen Z during the 36-day student protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). In his speech, Modi said that “stricter measures against paper leaks will be announced at the Cabinet meeting tomorrow.”

The video had garnered millions of views before Facebook temporarily restricted access to it.

Restriction in response to legal request

Media reports stated that Facebook restricted the video following what initially appeared to be a “legal request”. At around 1:25 a.m. on Tuesday, a notification appeared in the “See Why” option on the video stating that the content had been restricted pursuant to a legal request in India.

The notice did not mention the specific legal provision or authority behind the request. Meta later restored access to the video, stating that the restriction occurred due to an error.