Daijiworld Media Network - Hyderabad
Hyderabad, Jul 31: Hyderabad Cyber Crime Police have registered a case against Meta India head Arun Srinivas and several Facebook and Instagram accounts for allegedly allowing the circulation of morphed and objectionable content targeting Prime Minister Narendra Modi during the recent Cockroach Janta Party protest at Jantar Mantar.
The action follows complaints filed by two individuals, who alleged that they came across digitally manipulated videos and images portraying the Prime Minister in an obscene and derogatory manner on Meta-owned social media platforms.
According to police, the complainants claimed the content included AI-generated or digitally altered visuals featuring PM Modi alongside Union Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, as well as an edited image involving US President Donald Trump. They alleged that the posts were capable of misleading the public, spreading misinformation, disturbing public order and damaging the reputation of public figures.
One of the complainants, businessman S Arvind Reddy, alleged that he encountered the objectionable content while browsing Instagram. Another complainant, Telangana BJP social media cell member T Saikiran Goud, claimed he found similar morphed images and videos on both Facebook and Instagram and sought action against the accounts responsible.
Police said preliminary investigation revealed that several of the disputed posts had either been deleted or were no longer accessible in India.
Cases have been registered under Sections 66C and 67 of the Information Technology Act relating to identity theft and publication of obscene electronic material, along with Sections 353(2) and 336(4) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) pertaining to statements likely to create public disorder and forgery of electronic records intended to harm reputation. Further investigation is in progress.
Meanwhile, Meta informed the Uttarakhand High Court that it has revised its grievance redressal policy and is now taking prompt action on user complaints.
The submission was made during the hearing of a public interest litigation concerning fake social media accounts, objectionable online content, cyber extortion and delays by social media platforms in responding to complaints.
A division bench of Chief Justice Manoj Kumar Gupta and Justice Subhash Upadhyay asked the petitioner to submit suggestions on addressing shortcomings in the functioning of social media platforms and measures to effectively curb such incidents.