HRF condemns Instagram curbs on ‘Stop Vizag Data Centers’ account, asks Meta to disclose legal basis

The Human Rights Forum (HRF) has condemned Meta’s restriction of the Instagram account of the citizen-led ‘Stop Vizag Data Centers’ campaign in India on September 19, alleging that the action had curtailed a platform for public scrutiny of hyperscale data centre projects in and around Visakhapatnam.

In a statement on Tuesday (September 22, 2026), the HRF’s representatives said nine posts from the account had also been restricted in the preceding weeks. They alleged that online criticism of hyperscale data centres in the region had repeatedly been restricted under “legal requirements under India’s Information Technology Rules”.

HRF representatives said the campaign, launched in July, had raised questions about the projects’ requirements for water, land and electricity, the use of public resources, environmental risks and the lack of transparency and public participation.