- Telangana Cyber Crime Police have registered two FIRs against Meta India's head over the alleged circulation of morphed and objectionable social media content targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the recent protests.
- The FIRs were registered on July 29 based on complaints filed by BJP supporters, who alleged that manipulated videos and images of the Prime Minister were being shared on social media with the intent to defame and mislead the public.
- According to one of the complainants, around 20 Facebook and Instagram accounts had allegedly posted morphed, obscene, derogatory and misleading content targeting the Prime Minister.
- The police in Congress-ruled Telangana have invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act in these cases.
- The content was posted online during the youth protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign to demand the resignation of Pradhan, the Union education minister at the time.
- On July 20, thousands joined the protest in Delhi two days after the police hospitalized activist Sonam Wangchuk, who had been on a hunger strike for three weeks.
- Their march to Parliament was met with a crackdown by the police, which turbocharged the agitation, spreading to other parts of the country.
Meta India's head is facing legal action as Telangana Cyber Crime Police registered two FIRs for allegedly circulating objectionable content about Prime Minister Narendra Modi during recent youth protests. The complaints, filed by BJP supporters, claim that around 20 Facebook and Instagram accounts shared morphed and derogatory content.123
The FIRs were lodged on July 29, with allegations that the manipulated videos and images aimed to defame the Prime Minister. One complainant, T Saikiran Goud, a member of the Telangana BJP’s social media core committee, stated, “On behalf of Telangana BJP [workers], we seek an investigation into certain Instagram accounts that have been publishing and circulating content which…is derogatory towards the prime minister.”
The police invoked provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act in their investigation. Another BJP supporter noted that the content included “obscene” videos and images, which were shared during protests led by the Cockroach Janta Party demanding the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan over alleged irregularities in competitive exams.45
The protests, which saw thousands participating, were met with police crackdowns, resulting in injuries as law enforcement used lathis and tear gas against demonstrators.
“The FIRs were filed after BJP supporters alleged that around 20 social media accounts shared morphed and derogatory content targeting Modi, potentially misleading the public. The complaints invoke provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act, highlighting the legal implications for Meta and the accounts involved.”
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