New Delhi, Aug 6:
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised for the presence of child sexual abuse material, deepfake content and operational lapses on the company’s platforms, sources said following a high-level meeting with Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
During the meeting, government officials made it clear that Meta may not qualify as an “intermediary” under Indian law, as the platform actively curates and promotes content. This could impact its safe harbour protections under the IT Act.
According to sources, Meta representatives acknowledged that substantial funds had been spent to “boost certain types of content,” including material later deemed inappropriate or illegal. Officials also admitted to lapses in moderating such content.
The meeting was convened after controversy over the temporary removal of a video featuring Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Meta platforms. The company had attributed the takedown to a technical error and later restored the content, but the explanation was termed “inadequate” by the government.