NEW DELHI: The government has made it clear to Meta that safe-harbour protection will not be available if the company violates Indian law, with sources saying the message has been conveyed during recent discussions between the two sides over content moderation and child sexual abuse material (CSAM).“Seen some action on CSAM issue; govt clear no safe harbour if law violated; message has gone home,” government sources said, according to news agency PTI.The discussions with Meta have focused heavily on the company’s handling of CSAM and other harmful online content, as well as its compliance with India’s legal framework.According to sources cited by news agency ANI, Meta has become more cautious about CSAM-related content and is taking steps to filter out unlawful material.The government has also conveyed that it has acted strictly within the powers available under the existing legal and statutory framework.The government has maintained that its objective is not to censor social media platforms or suppress legitimate speech, but to ensure that platforms operating in India comply with Indian laws and do not create circumstances that could adversely affect the country’s social fabric.
Govt seeks stronger local sensitivity in content moderation
The discussions have also focused on Meta’s content moderation systems, with the government stressing the need for greater sensitivity to India’s linguistic and cultural diversity.Government sources said moderation teams cannot rely solely on global standards and need a better understanding of Indian languages and cultural contexts when making decisions about content.The government has also raised concerns over deepfakes and other forms of synthetically generated content. Sources said AI-generated material should be clearly labelled so users can distinguish between synthetic and authentic content.This, the government said, is a matter of the “user’s right to know” whether the content they are viewing is genuine or AI-generated.Earlier discussions had also examined Meta’s recommendation and virality systems, including concerns over why flagged synthetic content could continue to resurface or be amplified. The government had sought details of the company’s safeguards and content moderation mechanisms, while stressing that material identified as unlawful or harmful should not continue to be recommended.
WhatsApp usernames, platform regulation also under scrutiny
The government is separately examining the issue of WhatsApp usernames from an industry-wide perspective, rather than treating it as an issue specific to Meta.Sources said the Centre would continue to monitor the matter across messaging platforms.The broader discussions have covered Meta’s compliance with Indian law, its content policies, moderation systems and safeguards.The government has previously questioned the company’s eligibility for safe-harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, which provides intermediaries protection from liability for third-party content subject to specified conditions.Government sources said similar debates over platform regulation have emerged in Western liberal democracies as well, underlining that the challenge is not unique to India.At the same time, officials stressed that cultural and social contexts differ between countries and that reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech remain constitutionally applicable in India.The latest discussions follow several rounds of engagement between Meta’s global team and the ministry of electronics and information technology over CSAM, deepfakes, bots, synthetic content, recommendation algorithms and compliance with Indian laws.
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The government has maintained that it is not seeking a wholesale overhaul of Meta’s algorithms, but wants the company’s platforms and moderation mechanisms to operate in accordance with Indian law and account adequately for the country’s linguistic and cultural context.
