Mark Zuckerberg Apologises For CSAM And Deepfake Content After Meta Officials Met MeitY

Hyderabad: Mark Zuckerberg, the founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Meta, has apologised for the Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and Deepfake content available on its platforms, according to Indian government sources.

The source mentions that "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 apologized and regretted the mistake," the source added.

Earlier, the global leadership of Meta met senior officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) after being summoned over the brief removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video message to students from Facebook.

The meeting, led by Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan, with MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan and other senior officials lasted around 45 minutes. Officials told ETV Bharat that the Meta delegation was scheduled to meet Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw later in the day.

The discussions focused on the temporary restriction of the Prime Minister's verified Facebook post, which had assured students of strict action against paper leaks. Although Meta restored the post and attributed its removal to a technical error in its automated content moderation system, the government had maintained that the explanation was insufficient and sought a detailed clarification from the company.

Apart from the PM's post, the government also raised concerns over the circulation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) through paid advertisements on Instagram, an issue for which Meta had received a government notice last month. Officials also discussed the platform's handling of AI-generated or synthetic content and the safeguards in place before taking down content from verified or high-profile accounts.

Ahead of the meeting, MeitY Secretary S. Krishnan had said the government wanted to understand why Meta's existing technology had failed in these cases despite the company's technological capabilities. He also stressed that global digital platforms operating in India must have a clear understanding of Indian laws and ensure effective compliance.

Government sources indicated that the discussions were not limited to the technical failure behind the removal of the Prime Minister's post. Officials also sought explanations on Meta's algorithmic functioning, content moderation processes and the company's role in maintaining public order. According to the government, these issues have implications beyond platform operations and touch upon matters of national security.

Following the controversy, Meta informed the government that it had introduced enhanced review mechanisms for posts made by the Prime Minister and other prominent public figures. The company said such content would now undergo additional levels of oversight involving senior officials to minimise the risk of erroneous removals.

The controversy arose after a video message posted by Prime Minister Modi on July 23, and later shared on Facebook, was briefly restricted before being restored. Meta told the government that AI-powered automated filters mistakenly flagged and removed the original post while reviewing related shared content and subsequent videos.

Meanwhile, the issue also reached Parliament. A Parliamentary Standing Committee on Wednesday sought an apology from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the removal of the Prime Minister's speech from Facebook. In a communication to the MeitY Secretary, the Lok Sabha Secretariat stated that if an apology is not issued within three days, the protection and immunity available to Zuckerberg could be withdrawn.

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