Social Media Platforms Comply with India’s Request to Take Down Violent Video Content
According to sources, Meta Platforms Inc., Google (owned by Alphabet Inc.), and Twitter Inc. are adhering to Indian government directives to remove a video depicting the public humiliation of two women by a group of men in a northeastern state.
A video of the May 4 incident went viral on social media overnight in India, prompting Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s first public comments on the violence in Manipur state, where ethnic groups have been feuding for nearly two months.
Some social media companies began removing images and videos from the event because it violated their rules even before New Delhi issued emergency lockdown orders, said the people, who asked not to be identified because the details are private.
India’s technology ministry, Google, Meta and Twitter did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
India’s Supreme Court has called the video “deeply disturbing” and asked the federal and state governments led by Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party to report on action taken against the perpetrators at a hearing scheduled for July 28.
Journalist Barkha Dutt said the enforcement of restraining orders has been too aggressive and that they hinder the ability of news publishers to report on the event.
