Bengal Cong Insta account suspended, triggers row over digital censorship

• Meta restricts the Bengal Congress's Instagram account, which had nearly 97,600 followers, citing legal requirements under Indian IT rules.

• Congress leaders allege an attempt to silence political opposition, while Mahua Moitra seeks an explanation from the Centre.

• Similar restrictions on political accounts and content fuel wider concerns over social media censorship in India.

The suspension of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee's official Instagram account has triggered a fresh political controversy, raising serious questions about freedom of expression, government intervention and the growing control of social media content in India.

The account, operating under the handle 'INCBengalCongress', became inaccessible on the morning of Tuesday, 3 November. Before its suspension, the page reportedly had around 97,600 followers and 4,583 posts. Meta, Instagram's parent company, displayed a notification stating, 'Account not available in India. We temporarily restricted access to this account pursuant to legal requirements under India's Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules.'

The notification, however, did not identify the authority that had requested the restriction or specify which particular posts had led to the action.

The Bengal Congress has strongly condemned the move, describing it as an attempt to silence political opposition. State Congress president Shubhankar Sarkar questioned the circumstances surrounding the suspension and accused the ruling establishment of using punitive measures against those who criticise the government.

"We do not know why the account has been suspended. This indicates the tanashahi (dictatorship) in India. The BJP can criticise anybody; they can abuse anyone. If anyone protests or criticises them, punitive action is taken," Sarkar said.

He added that the party would examine the possibility of taking legal action. "We will explore whether any legal remedy is available," he said.

Ashok Bhattacharya, chairperson of the Pradesh Congress's social media and digital communication department, also strongly protested the move. He alleged that the account had been targeted because of its regular political criticism of the Narendra Modi-led Central government and BJP.

"The West Bengal Pradesh Congress Instagram handle has been unfairly blocked or shut down precisely because we were consistently posting content opposing the policies and actions of the BJP and the RSS. We condemn this move in the strongest possible terms," Bhattacharya said.

He further alleged that social media companies were being used as instruments to weaken democratic opposition and restrict political debate.

The controversy has also attracted the attention of Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra. Despite the political rivalry between the Congress and the TMC in West Bengal, Moitra questioned the suspension and demanded an explanation from the ministry of information and broadcasting.

Taking to social media, she directly tagged the ministry and asked, 'Why has @INCWestBengal insta account been suspended? What kind of rubbish is this?' Her intervention has added a wider political dimension to the controversy, suggesting that concerns over digital censorship may extend beyond party lines.

The BJP, however, has rejected the allegations. State BJP leader Dilip Ghosh dismissed the suggestion that the suspension represented an attempt to suppress political voices. He argued that any restriction should be viewed in the context of platform rules and applicable legal provisions rather than automatically being treated as political interference.

"There is absolutely no question of stifling voices. If an account is restricted, it is likely due to platform policy violations or standard electronic regulations rather than a political directive," he said.

The controversy comes amid wider concerns over restrictions on political and protest-related content on social media. The accounts of the Cockroach Janta Party and several of its members have reportedly faced similar restrictions. The Aam Aadmi Party and the Indian Youth Congress have also complained about the removal of their Instagram posts.

Meta's decision to restrict a reel featuring Rahul Gandhi and Tamil Nadu chief minister C. Joseph Vijay ahead of the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections earlier this year also attracted criticism. The reel was subsequently restored following public protests.

More significantly, a report by the Indian Express claimed that the Indian government issued blocking orders covering nearly 10 lakh Instagram posts, 80,000 Facebook posts and around 15,000 YouTube posts between March and July this year. It also reported that Meta had integrated its API with the government's Sahyog portal, potentially allowing flagged content to be acted upon more directly.