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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised for the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), deepfake content and shortcomings in operating the company's platforms during high-level consultations with the Centre, according to government sources.
Government sources further said the platforms were "grilled badly" during the meeting and were told that they also have a responsibility to ensure the safety of children. The government made it clear that platforms cannot earn money from advertising child abuse content and simultaneously claim safe harbour protections.
While the discussions covered a range of issues related to platform accountability and content moderation, there was no mention of the removal of a video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi, sources said.
The apology came during a two-day meeting between officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Meta's global leadership on platform accountability, content moderation and compliance with Indian laws.
Meta admitted its mistakes in content moderation and expressed regret over the handling of harmful content on its platforms. The company's officials have been again tomorrow.
Government officials appear to have suggested that Meta could not claim the legal protection available to intermediaries under the Information Technology Act because its algorithms actively determine which content is amplified and shown to users.
Safe harbour, under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, shields platforms like Meta from liability for third-party content. The provision recognises that social media companies cannot practically monitor every piece of content uploaded by billions of users. Instead, they are protected from prosecution so long as they remove unlawful content when directed by courts or authorised government agencies.
However, the government appears to have suggested Meta that they are not covered under the intermediaries' definition as their algorithms select who receives the content and, hence, the Safe harbour under IT Act is not applicable.
"It was made clear to them that they are not covered under the definition of an intermediary. They select who receives the content. Therefore, the safe harbour protection under the IT Act is not applicable," sources said.
The discussions also touched upon the platform's business practices. According to sources, Meta admitted that significant sums had been spent on boosting certain categories of content and expressed regret over those decisions.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg should personally apologise for the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video from Facebook, Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology chairman Nishikant Dubey said on Monday after a meeting with representatives of the social media giant.
Speaking after the more than three-hour meeting, Dubey said Meta had acknowledged that Modi's video remained unavailable on the platform for about five hours, from 12.30 am to 5 am.
The Centre on Wednesday raised concerns over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook video and Meta's failure to effectively curb child sexual abuse material (CSAM) during a high-level meeting with the company's executives. The 45-minute discussion took place amid growing scrutiny of Meta's content moderation policies across Facebook and Instagram.
According to sources, the meeting focused on the takedown of PM Modi's Gen Z outreach video, alleged non-compliance with government directives, and the presence of what officials described as "inappropriate" content on Meta's platforms.
