Mark Zuckerberg apologised to the Indian government after Meta’s global leadership on Wednesday met senior officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY). This comes when Meta was summoned by the Indian govt over concerns related to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on its platforms and the brief removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook post. The discussions come at a time when the government is closely monitoring the situation, with officials seeking answers on platform accountability, content moderation, compliance with Indian laws, safety for verified accounts, and the effectiveness of Meta’s automated systems in preventing similar incidents.
Reuters, citing local media channels, stated that Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to the Indian government over Meta content and errors. Sources also claimed that Meta admitted that significant sums had been spent to boost certain categories of content on its platforms and expressed regret over those practices.
Previously, ANI also reported that Meta’s global team, including Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan, met IT Secretary S. Krishnan and other senior officials for around 45 minutes. The delegation is also scheduled to meet Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw later.
During the meeting, the government discussed several issues, with the spread of CSAM on Instagram being a key focus. The discussions also reportedly covered concerns over algorithmic bias, the use of artificial intelligence in content moderation, and the functioning of Meta’s recommendation systems.
The panel also reviewed how Meta’s algorithms operate and what role the platform plays in issues related to public order and national security. Officials are also reported to have stressed the need for stronger safeguards before moderation action is taken against content shared by verified public figures.
Government sources further said it was made clear to Meta that it could not automatically claim protection under the ‘intermediary’ provisions of the Information Technology Act if it actively selects or recommends content to users through its algorithms. Officials reportedly told the company that the safe harbour protections available to intermediaries would not apply in such circumstances.
Addressing journalists on Tuesday, IT Secretary S. Krishnan said the government wanted to understand why such incidents had occurred despite Meta being one of the world’s largest technology companies. He added that platforms operating in India must clearly understand the country’s laws and ensure full compliance.
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The meeting follows the temporary restriction of Prime Minister Modi’s Facebook post, which had originally been shared from Instagram. The post featured a selfie video addressing students and promising strict action against paper leaks.
Meta later restored the content and apologised, saying it had been removed in error because of a mistake in its AI-powered content review system. However, the IT Ministry termed the explanation inadequate and said the company must strengthen its technology to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Following the incident, Meta informed the government that posts from the Prime Minister and other high-profile accounts would now undergo additional levels of review before any moderation action is taken.