Police complaint filed against Meta India director over AI-generated Modi videos

The Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police have filed an FIR against Arun Srinivas, Meta's Director for India, and several social media users over AI-generated videos of Prime Minister Narendra Modi circulated on Facebook and Instagram. Investigators are analysing the origin of the manipulated videos and assessing whether they misled the public, as well as examining Meta's safety measures to curb such content. The probe considers potential violations of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and the Information Technology Act.

Meta has not yet commented on the complaint. According to sources, a Meta representative appeared before investigators to brief them on content moderation and compliance measures. The case is separate from a recent government summons to Meta executives after a Facebook post by PM Modi was briefly restricted due to a technical glitch, which the government said was an inadequate explanation.

These developments come amid heightened regulatory scrutiny of digital platforms in India. The government recently ordered GitHub to block the messaging app BitChat, and earlier asked Meta to halt WhatsApp's username feature over scam concerns. A parliamentary committee has summoned social media representatives for a meeting on August 3 regarding misinformation and platform accountability.