The government on Wednesday stepped up its scrutiny of Meta's operations, with senior officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) holding high-level discussions with the company's global leadership following the controversy over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook video and concerns about harmful content on Meta's platforms.
According to government sources, the meeting focused on platform accountability, compliance with Indian laws, deepfakes, child sexual abuse material, and the wider responsibilities of social media companies.
Following the discussions, MeitY officials said all digital platforms operating in India must adhere to Indian laws and fulfil their responsibilities towards society in the same way as other institutions.
"Platforms can't be run in India as per US law. These are technical matters, every aspect is to be understood. We aim to employ law for the benefit of our society," government officials said.
They clarified that the government is not considering setting up a separate regulator for social media platforms and that its approach is guided by the Constitution, including the reasonable restrictions permitted under Article 19.
Officials said technical issues, including platform logs, were examined in detail and stressed the importance of maintaining public trust in digital platforms as deepfake technology continues to become more advanced.
They added that the government remains in regular touch with major platforms, including Meta, X and Telegram.
The meeting, attended by Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and senior MeitY officials, came a day after Meta publicly apologised for mistakenly taking down the Prime Minister's Facebook post.
Meta's delegation was led by Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan, who reiterated the company's apology and described the removal of the Prime Minister's video as a technical error.
Representatives from Facebook and Instagram also discussed content moderation policies, algorithmic systems and the platforms' internal safeguards during the meeting.
Separately, MeitY has proposed amendments to the Information Technology Rules aimed at tackling AI-generated misinformation and deepfakes.
Under the draft amendments, platforms would be required to remove unlawful AI-generated content within three hours of receiving a valid government or court order, replacing the current 36-hour deadline.
The proposed rules also require platforms to clearly label AI-generated content, speed up grievance redressal, and strengthen measures against deepfakes, impersonation and other harmful synthetic media.
The draft amendments have been released for public consultation, and the government will review stakeholder feedback before finalising the revised rules.
