India’s Parliamentary Committee on Communications and Information Technology is set to summon officials from the social media platform Meta, following controversial remarks made by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Zuckerberg claimed that most incumbent governments, including the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA), had lost power post the Covid-19 pandemic. These comments have sparked significant backlash in India.
BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, who chairs the committee, announced that he would issue summons to Meta and demand an apology from the platform to India’s Parliament. Dubey emphasized the importance of accurate information in a democratic country, stating, “Wrong information in any democratic country tarnishes the image of the country. That organization will have to apologize to the Indian Parliament and the people here for this mistake.”
Dubey further elaborated on the committee’s decision, saying, “We have decided that we will summon the people of Meta. The CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, has given a statement and shown that after Covid-19, an atmosphere has been created against the government where he has also mentioned India.” He expressed concern over Zuckerberg’s remarks, calling them “alarming” and accusing the Meta CEO of interfering in India’s democracy and misleading the world with incorrect information about the BJP-NDA’s status.
The committee plans to summon Meta officials between January 20 and January 24, during which they will be asked to apologize. Dubey warned that if Meta fails to comply, the committee would take appropriate action.
Zuckerberg made these remarks during an episode of the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. He also mentioned plans to replace Meta’s fact-checkers with “community notes,” a feature similar to one used on the social media platform X, where a community of users clarifies doubts on posts that may spread misinformation.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw fact-checked Zuckerberg’s statements, labeling them as “misinformation” and stressing the need to uphold facts and credibility.