Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to India over the presence of deepfake and child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the company's platforms, according to sources in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), amid intensifying government scrutiny of the social media giant.
The apology was conveyed during a meeting between senior global executives of Meta—the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp—and officials of the MeitY on Wednesday. According to sources, Zuckerberg expressed regret through the company's top representatives for shortcomings in the operation of its intermediary platforms.
Government sources said Meta acknowledged that significant sums had been spent to boost certain categories of content on its platforms and admitted lapses in content moderation. The company also apologised for operational errors and assured authorities that corrective measures would be taken.
The development comes hours after a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Communications and Information Technology reportedly gave Zuckerberg three days to issue an unconditional apology over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video on exam reforms from Facebook. The panel warned that failure to comply could lead to the withdrawal of the company's safe harbour protection under the Information Technology Act and expose it to legal action.
According to the sources, government officials also made it clear during the meeting that platforms actively deciding how content is promoted or distributed could lose the protections available to intermediaries if they fail to comply with Indian laws.
The parliamentary panel additionally expressed concern over the availability of child sexual abuse material and content demeaning women on intermediary platforms, calling for stronger action against companies that fail to remove such illegal material promptly.
The latest developments come amid increasing global scrutiny of Meta's content moderation practices. A recent investigation by BBC Eye reported the presence of advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material on the platform, prompting reports to both Meta and Indian authorities.
The government has not yet issued an official statement on the outcome of Wednesday's meeting, while Meta has also not publicly commented on the claims made by government sources.
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