Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to India for the CSAM (Child Sexual Abuse Material) content, deepfake content and errors in operating the platform.
The apology was conveyed during a meeting between senior global executives from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), sources said
It was made clear to them that they are not covered under Intermediary definition. They select who receives the content. Safe harbour under IT Act not applicable.
The development occurred during a meeting between senior global executives from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, and MeitY.
According to sources, Zuckerberg also conveyed his apology through top officials for shortcomings in the operation of the intermediary platforms. “Meta admitted that a lot of money was paid for boosting certain types of content. They apologized and regretted the mistake,” the source added.
Earlier in the day, a parliamentary panel gave Mark Zuckerberg three days to apologise for the removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s video from Facebook and warned that failure to do so could lead to the withdrawal of immunity, potentially resulting in prosecution and the registration of a First Information Report (FIR). The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Information Technology, headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, also demanded action against intermediary platforms that host CSEAM and demeaning material against women.
The development also comes amid growing scrutiny of Meta’s content moderation systems. An earlier BBC Eye investigation reported observing around 30 unique advertisements that allegedly promoted child sexual abuse material, which it then reported to the platform and to Indian authorities.
