Zuckerberg Apologises to India Over CSAM, Deepfakes

Sources further claimed that it was communicated to the company that its role in selecting and distributing content to users could place it outside the definition of a neutral intermediary under Indian law. Authorities made it clear that the “safe harbour” protections available under the Information Technology Act may not be applicable if a platform is found to be actively determining which content reaches users.

“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. They admitted that a lot of money was paid for boosting certain type of content. They apologised and regretted the mistake,” the sources added.

Earlier in the day, IT Ministry sources said that social media platforms, including Meta, must comply with the law of the land as a parliamentary panel asked Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg to issue an “unqualified apology” within three days over the brief removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook post recently.

Meta stands to lose its “safe harbour protection” in India if it fails to do so within the stipulated deadline, the IT Ministry sources added.

A high-level Meta delegation met IT Secretary S. Krishnan in the national capital to discuss the erroneous takedown of the Prime Minister’s video. They were also scheduled to meet Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

The apology and the accompanying discussions underscore the government’s continued scrutiny of platform accountability, content moderation practices and compliance with Indian intermediary rules.