Meta has yet to restore the Aam Aadmi Party's Gujarat Instagram and Facebook accounts despite a Supreme Court order on August 17 directing their reinstatement. The accounts, suspended for alleged copyright violations, remain inaccessible on Instagram and restricted on Facebook in India, according to medianama.com.
The Supreme Court's two-page interim order instructed Meta to restore the Instagram handle “@aapgujarat” and Facebook page “@aapgujarat” pending the writ petition's disposal, subject to removal of objectionable material. However, as of August 20, the Instagram page shows a 'page not available' message, while the Facebook page is restricted in India but accessible via VPN, per medianama.com.
This situation highlights ongoing tensions between social media platforms and political entities in India regarding content moderation and legal compliance. The Supreme Court's intervention underscores the judiciary's role in balancing digital rights and platform policies. The AAP Gujarat accounts' suspension follows similar cases where platforms restricted political content under legal requests.
Meta's continued non-compliance with the Supreme Court order raises questions about enforcement mechanisms for digital content rulings. The Supreme Court order dated August 17 remains the latest authoritative directive on this matter, with the accounts still inaccessible on Instagram and restricted on Facebook in India as of August 20.