India social media regulation – Bharat Pulse News

Meta has been told that its Facebook and Instagram platforms must comply with Indian law rather than relying solely on global company policies, as the Centre intensifies discussions with the technology giant over content moderation, deepfakes, child sexual abuse material and recommendation algorithms. Meta Told to Follow Indian Law Government officials clarified that the Centre has not ordered Meta to completely overhaul its algorithms. Instead, the focus is on ensuring that the company’s content policies, moderation systems and platform guidelines operate in accordance with Indian law. The issue has been discussed in several meetings between Meta representatives and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Another round of technical discussions is expected as the government seeks concrete changes rather than general assurances. Centre Raises Deepfake and CSAM Concerns The government has reiterated a zero-tolerance approach towards child sexual abuse material and asked Meta to take stronger proactive measures to detect and remove such content. Officials have also raised concerns about deepfakes, including instances where legitimate content from authorised or verified accounts may be wrongly classified as synthetic. The Centre has called for greater human oversight in sensitive cases instead of relying entirely on automated systems. Meta Algorithms Face Government Scrutiny Meta’s recommendation systems have also come under scrutiny over why users are shown unrelated or previously removed synthetic content. The government has sought stronger mechanisms to prevent flagged deepfakes from resurfacing or being amplified by platform algorithms. It has also stressed the need for better understanding of Indian languages and cultural context in content moderation. Discussions also involve Meta’s obligations as an intermediary under Indian law, including provisions linked to safe-harbour protection.