The government on Wednesday intensified scrutiny of Meta’s operations after senior officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) held high-level talks with the company’s global leadership amid the controversy over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook video and concerns over harmful content on Meta platforms.
Government sources said the discussions focused on platform accountability, compliance with Indian laws, deepfakes, child sexual abuse material and the broader responsibilities of social media companies.
After the talks, MeitY officials said all platforms operating in India must comply with Indian law and discharge responsibilities towards society in the same manner as other institutions.
"Platforms can't be run in India as per US law. These are technical matters, every aspect is to be understood. We aim to employ law for the benefit of our society," government officials said.
They stressed that the government was not considering a separate regulator for social media companies and that its actions were being guided by the constitutional framework, including the reasonable restrictions permitted under Article 19.
Officials said technical aspects, including platform logs, were discussed in detail and emphasised that public trust in digital platforms must be preserved as deepfake technology becomes increasingly sophisticated.
They added that the government remains in regular contact with major platforms such as Meta, X and Telegram.
The meeting, attended by Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw and senior MeitY officials, came a day after Meta publicly apologised for the erroneous takedown of the Prime Minister’s post.
Meta’s delegation was led by Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan, who reiterated the company’s apology and described the removal of the Prime Minister’s video as a technical error.
Officials from Facebook and Instagram also discussed content moderation practices, algorithmic systems and internal safeguards during the meeting.
Alongside the Meta discussions, MeitY has proposed amendments to the IT Rules aimed at curbing AI-generated misinformation and deepfakes.
The draft rules would require platforms to remove unlawful AI-generated content within three hours of receiving a valid government or court order, compared with the current 36-hour deadline.
The proposals also mandate clear labelling of AI-generated content, faster grievance redress timelines and stronger action against deepfakes, impersonation and other harmful synthetic media.
The amendments have been released for public consultation, and the government is expected to review stakeholder feedback before finalising the rules.
Source: India Today