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The Centre has moved discussions with Meta to the technical stage and asked the company to take specific measures on deepfakes, CSAM, and unlabelled AI-generated content

The talks indicate tighter government scrutiny of Meta’s content moderation practices and compliance with Indian laws, with officials expected to closely monitor corrective measures

Meta outlined its proposed solutions during technical discussions, with another round of talks likely next week

The Centre’s discussions with Meta have moved into a technical phase after two days of intensive questioning over deepfakes, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), unlabelled AI-generated content, and the company’s content recommendation algorithms. 

During the third day of discussions with MeitY officials yesterday, Meta’s global team, led by global affairs chief Joel Kaplan, explained how its systems work and outlined measures it plans to deploy to address the Centre’s concerns. 

A PTI report, citing sources, said the government has asked Meta to implement specific measures and report back on the outcomes. Officials are expected to regularly review the company’s progress, with another meeting likely to be held next week. 

One of the key concerns raised by the government was the reappearance and continued circulation of harmful AI-generated content even after it had been flagged. Officials also questioned why unlabelled AI-generated videos remain visible on Meta’s platforms despite the government’s push for synthetic content to be appropriately identified and labelled. 

The Centre has also asked Meta to strengthen human oversight in content moderation, with greater emphasis on Indian languages as well as local cultural and social contexts. 

Meta told officials it has solutions to address deepfakes, CSAM, bot accounts and synthetic content, and explained how these measures could be deployed across its platforms. 

The PTI report said government sources described the discussions as an effort to ensure Meta complies with Indian laws rather than an attempt at censorship. Officials are expected to continue engaging with the company as it implements corrective measures.

Meta Under Pressure 

The technical discussions followed two days of meetings in which IT minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and IT secretary S Krishnan questioned Meta’s global team over its compliance with Indian laws, content recommendation algorithms, and platform safeguards. 

The government had summoned Meta after Facebook temporarily restricted a video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The video remained unavailable for nearly five to six hours before being restored, with Meta attributing the incident to an error in its AI-powered content filters. Later, Meta apologised, while government sources said the apology came from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. 

The issue also came under the scrutiny of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology, which sought an “unqualified apology” from Zuckerberg and warned that Meta’s safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act could be reconsidered. 

The panel also raised concerns over CSAM and content targeting women, directing digital platforms to take immediate action. Meanwhile, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is investigating allegations that CSAM-linked advertisements appeared on Meta’s platforms, while the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has directed the Delhi Police to probe similar allegations involving paid Instagram advertisements. 

The government has also questioned Meta over the paid promotion of potentially harmful content, recommendation algorithms, and safeguards for prominent accounts.

The Centre is expected to continue discussions with Meta next week as it reviews the company’s progress on the measures discussed.