MeitY grills Meta over Instagram algorithms, deepfakes and compliance with Indian laws

New Delhi: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Thursday intensified its scrutiny of Meta over the functioning of Instagram’s recommendation algorithms, compliance with Indian laws and safeguards against harmful and synthetic content. According to news reports, the discussions covered deepfakes, child sexual abuse material (CSAM), bot accounts, synthetic content and the checks Meta used to ensure its platforms complied with India’s legal and constitutional framework. The hour-long meeting between Meta’s global team, led by Global Affairs Chief Joel Kaplan, and Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw came a day after the company was questioned over the temporary restriction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook post. According to news reports, Meta acknowledged shortcomings in some areas and told the government that it would continue strengthening its systems and taking corrective measures. Government officials reportedly indicated that the Centre intended to keep pressing the company for sustained improvements rather than treating individual corrective steps as sufficient. Algorithms and compliance under scrutiny A significant part of Thursday’s discussions focused on whether Meta’s algorithms and compliance mechanisms provided adequate checks and safeguards under Indian law. The government also sought details on the technical architecture behind the platform’s recommendation and moderation systems, including how decisions were made and whether the systems treated content fairly. According to news reports, officials stressed that Meta’s operations in India were required to follow Indian law and the Constitution, irrespective of the legal standards that applied to digital platforms in the US or Europe. Meta also briefed the government on the mechanisms and parameters it used to address questions around algorithmic fairness. The discussions were expected to continue over the next three to four days, with Meta’s technical executives likely to engage with the government’s technical team. IT Secretary S Krishnan was expected to lead the next round of discussions. No separate social media regulator proposed According to news reports, the government was not considering the creation of a separate regulator for social media platforms at this stage. The focus remained on enforcing compliance through the existing legal and constitutional framework, including obligations applicable to online intermediaries. Artificial intelligence-generated videos and increasingly sophisticated deepfakes also emerged as a key concern during the discussions. Officials reportedly warned that realistic synthetic content could weaken public trust if platforms failed to develop stronger detection, moderation and disclosure mechanisms. The government was also monitoring the handling of such content across major platforms, including Meta, Google and X. PM Modi post triggered closer scrutiny The latest meeting marked the second round of questioning involving Meta’s global leadership following the temporary restriction of Prime Minister Modi’s July 23 Facebook post. The post, which addressed students and young people and referred to action against examination paper leaks, remained restricted for around five hours before being restored. Meta later attributed the restriction to an error involving its AI-powered automated content moderation systems and apologised. Kaplan, who previously served in the George W Bush administration before joining Facebook in 2011, travelled to India for meetings with senior government officials. On Wednesday, Kaplan and other Meta executives met IT Secretary S Krishnan and later Vaishnaw. Meta apologised during the meetings for the temporary restriction of the Prime Minister’s post and faced questions over wider moderation failures involving CSAM, deepfakes and the promotion of certain categories of paid content. A Parliamentary Standing Committee also sought an apology from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the incident and reportedly warned that intermediary protections could come under scrutiny if the company failed to respond. Safe harbour protection raised The government also referred to Section 79 of the Information Technology Act during its discussions with Meta. The provision gives online intermediaries conditional protection from liability for third-party content, provided they comply with their statutory obligations. According to news reports, the government told Meta that failures in meeting intermediary responsibilities could put its safe harbour protection at risk. Vaishnaw also questioned whether Meta’s systems were capable of preventing illegal content and whether financial incentives on the platform could result in the wider distribution of potentially harmful material. Meta executives reportedly acknowledged gaps in their ability to identify and control all forms of illegal content circulating across their platforms. The government had separately issued a notice to Meta in July over alleged child sexual abuse material appearing in paid advertisements on Instagram. The meetings this week consequently widened beyond the Prime Minister’s Facebook post to include CSAM, deepfakes, safeguards for verified and prominent accounts, algorithmic fairness, paid content amplification and Meta’s broader compliance with Indian law.