Goa, May 20 -- Norwegian journalist Helle Lyng says Meta suspended her Instagram and Facebook accounts after a confrontation with India's Ministry of External Affairs over Prime Minister Narendra Modi's refusal to take questions during his Oslo visit.

Lyng posted a video of herself asking Modi why he ignores queries from the "world's freest press." The clip went viral; she told X that both accounts were suspended on May 19 and she has 180 days left to appeal.

Lyng - who clarified she is "not a spy" and called journalism "sometimes confrontational" - said the bans are a "small prize to pay for press freedom." The episode prompted an MEA briefing in which Secretary (West) Sibi George defended India's constitutional guarantees and democrat...