New Delhi: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to the Central government and the Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology over several issues related to the social media giant’s operations in India, according to government sources.
The apology was also conveyed by Meta’s senior executives during a meeting with Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw at Rail Bhavan on Wednesday.
Government sources said Zuckerberg expressed regret over issues relating to child sexual abuse material (CSAM), deepfake content and lapses in content moderation on Meta’s platforms.
According to the sources, the government informed Meta that it does not qualify as a neutral intermediary in cases where it actively determines the distribution of content. It was also conveyed that the safe harbour protections under the Information Technology Act would not apply in such circumstances.
The sources further claimed that Meta acknowledged spending significant amounts to promote certain categories of content and expressed regret over the shortcomings.
Earlier in the day, Meta representatives also met Information Technology Secretary S. Krishnan, who had reportedly given the company three days to explain the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video on examination reforms for nearly five hours and to apologise over the presence of child sexual abuse material on its platforms.
