Facebook videos allegedly showing Prime Minister Narendra Modi in an abusive manner have led to a fresh regulatory probe in India against Meta India Managing Director Arun Srinivas, the social media and technology company Meta Platforms (META, Financials) said.
The Hyderabad police said it was preparing to serve a notice to Meta as part of the inquiry. Meta is working with authorities to remedy the problem, a spokeswoman for the business stated.
The lawsuit comes as India cracks down on online platforms. Companies have to remove illegal content reported by courts or the government within three hours or lose some legal safeguards under laws established this year.
It is not apparent why Srinivas was personally identified in the case. Company executives normally are personally liable only if they can demonstrate they were directly involved and knew about the alleged crimes, legal experts have said.
The probe comes amid recent tensions between Meta and the Indian government on content moderation. Government authorities demanded an explanation earlier this week after Facebook briefly censored one of Modis posts, which Meta said was blocked mistakenly.
Investors will be watching closely to see how the inquiry unfolds and whether it leads to more regulatory action or changes to Metas operations in one of Facebooks biggest regions.