Mark Zuckerberg apologises over child sexual abuse material and deepfakes on Meta platforms

Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised for a series of controversies involving the company's platforms, including child abuse content, deepfakes and operational errors, government sources said on Wednesday after the company's global leadership met Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The meeting came days after the Centre summoned Meta's top global executives over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook post, an incident the government said raised serious concerns about platform accountability.

According to government sources, Meta's delegation admitted mistakes in the way certain content had been handled and expressed regret. Sources also claimed the company acknowledged that substantial money had been spent to boost a particular type of content.

The meeting was attended by Meta's Global Affairs officer Joel Kaplan, who also held separate discussions with IT Secretary S. Krishnan.

Why did the government summon Meta's global executives?

The discussions followed the brief restriction of Prime Minister Modi's Facebook post, which had been shared from an Instagram video addressing young people and reiterating the government's commitment to act against paper leaks.

Meta had attributed the removal to a technical glitch involving its AI-powered automated content filters and restored the post after identifying the error. However, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) described the explanation as "inadequate" and said the incident required stronger safeguards.

Government sources said the issue went beyond a technical mistake and touched upon concerns related to national security, public order and the functioning of Meta's content moderation systems.

Following the incident, Meta informed the government that posts from the Prime Minister and other prominent verified accounts would be subject to additional oversight, including multiple levels of review by senior officials before any moderation action.

What other issues were discussed?

Apart from the PM Modi post controversy, the government also questioned Meta over Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) appearing in paid Instagram advertisements and the spread of AI-generated deepfakes.

Last month, the government issued a notice to Meta over CSAM-related advertisements on Instagram.

Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, IT Secretary S. Krishnan said the government wanted to understand what measures Meta had taken to tackle child abuse content, synthetic media and safeguards for verified public figures.

He said Meta, as one of the world's largest technology companies, should possess the capability to address such issues effectively and was expected to explain why existing systems had failed.

The government also sought clarity on how Meta intends to comply with Indian laws and improve enforcement of its platform policies.

What did the government say about Meta's legal responsibilities?

Government sources said it was made clear during the meeting that Meta could not rely on protections available to intermediaries under the Information Technology Act in the present context.

According to the sources, because the platform determines how content is distributed to users through its algorithms, the safe harbour protection under the law would not apply.

The government is also seeking greater transparency on how Meta's algorithms operate and whether they influence content visibility in ways that could affect public order.

What action is Parliament seeking?

Separately, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Wednesday demanded an apology from Zuckerberg over the removal of Prime Minister Modi's speech from Facebook.

In a letter to the Secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, a director from the Lok Sabha Secretariat said Zuckerberg's legal protection and immunity could be withdrawn if an apology is not issued within three days.

With agency inputs