Meta India Instagram reach grows after Gen Z protests draw scrutiny

Meta India Instagram influence has come into sharper focus after youth-led protests in India pushed political activity onto the platform and drew Prime Minister Narendra Modi into short-form video outreach. Sensor Tower data cited by CNBC showed Instagram’s daily active users in India rose 16% year on year to 531 million between July 18 and July 26, the period when the protests were at their peak.

The demonstrations were organized by the Cockroach Janta Party, described by CNBC as a viral, social media-led youth movement. Protesters used Instagram to broadcast grievances and document confrontations with authorities, making the app a central channel in a political episode that prompted Modi’s government to respond to student demands.

Modi posted his first selfie-style Instagram video on July 23 in an effort to reach younger voters, according to CNBC. The video drew more than 300 million views in its first 24 hours and was nearing 400 million views later, based on Instagram figures cited by CNBC. Modi has since posted additional videos and instructed ministers to strengthen their presence on Instagram, CNBC reported.

Why is Meta so influential in India?

Meta’s influence in India comes from the combined scale of WhatsApp, Instagram and Facebook, which give the company reach across messaging, video, social networking and advertising. Sensor Tower data cited by CNBC showed WhatsApp averaged 837 million daily active users in India so far this year, compared with 501 million for Instagram and 362 million for Facebook.

Those figures place Meta ahead of other major social platforms in India by daily use. YouTube, owned by Google, had 646 million average daily active users in the same period, while Elon Musk’s X had 15 million, according to Sensor Tower data cited by CNBC.

Instagram’s traffic also rose during the protest window. Sensor Tower data cited by CNBC showed Instagram daily active users increased 2.6% between July 18 and July 26, while Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp were largely unchanged.

Rohit Kulkarni, managing director and senior analyst covering internet and capital markets at Roth Capital Partners, told CNBC that Instagram’s growing role among younger users and in public debate reinforces Meta’s position in India’s digital ecosystem. Ujjwal Chaudhry, a partner at Analysys Mason, told CNBC that Instagram content consumption rose in recent weeks and that political parties’ use of the platform could draw in older users.

Neil Shah, vice president of research at Counterpoint Research, told CNBC that Meta has moved ahead in social commerce, communication and ad targeting in India, while Google remains strong in web display and Android in-app advertising. He said influencer trust on Meta’s platforms carries weight because targeting is algorithmic and personalized.

What scrutiny is Meta facing in India?

Meta’s scale is increasing government attention on content moderation, competition, privacy and digital payments, experts told CNBC. The company faces related scrutiny in Europe and the United States, CNBC reported.

India’s government earlier this month warned Instagram over child abuse ads on the platform, after a separate warning to WhatsApp regarding the rollout of a username feature, according to CNBC. Local media reported Tuesday that India’s information technology ministry summoned Meta’s global policy executives over concerns about non-compliance with Information Technology Rules and the spread of deepfakes on Instagram and Facebook.

The ministry was also angered after access to Modi’s selfie-style video was briefly restricted on Facebook, local reports cited by CNBC said. India’s IT secretary told ANI that the action was “disturbing,” according to CNBC.

For Meta, India is a large strategic market even if it contributes less financially than North America and Europe because revenue per user is lower, experts told CNBC. Kulkarni said India is one of Meta’s largest long-term monetization opportunities and is more important strategically than financially today. Meta did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.