New Delhi, Aug 5: Instagram and WhatsApp-owner Meta Platforms Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg apologised for the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s Facebook post, as company executives acknowledged failures involving child sexual abuse content and deepfakes and admitted that “a lot of money was paid for boosting a certain type of content”, government sources said on Wednesday.
Sources speaking after the US technology giant’s global team led by its Global Affairs head Joel Kaplan met Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, admitted to lapses in the operation of the company’s platforms.
Before meeting Vaishnaw, Kaplan, who served in the administration of George W Bush, including as White House Deputy Chief of Staff for Policy before joining Meta (then Facebook) in 2011, and his team held a separate discussion with IT Secretary S Krishnan.
The meetings followed the government summoning the company’s global leadership over the brief removal of Modi’s Facebook post last month, which Meta had blamed on a technical glitch.
While Meta officials did not offer any comments on the meeting, government sources said the Meta team apologised and expressed regret over the incident and over other content moderation failures.
The sources said company executives also admitted that “a lot of money was paid for boosting a certain type of content”.
They did not elaborate.
Government sources said the Centre told Meta that it could not claim the status of a neutral “intermediary” under India’s Information Technology Act because the company’s algorithms actively curate, recommend and determine which users receive content, rather than merely hosting third-party material.
On that basis, the government argued that Meta would not be entitled to the safe harbour protections available to intermediaries, which shield platforms from liability for user-generated content subject to compliance with the law.
The sources said the issue was conveyed to the company’s global leadership as part of the government’s broader push for greater platform accountability.
The government also questioned Meta over child sexual abuse material, deepfakes, safeguards for verified and prominent accounts, algorithmic bias and compliance with Indian law.
Meta admitted that a lot of illegal content was promoted, and paid promotions were carried out for specific audiences, government sources said, adding that Meta will be called again.
Meta was in the crosshairs of the government after temporarily restricting the Prime Minister’s July 23 Facebook post, in which he addressed Indian youth and promised stringent action against paper leaks.
Modi first posted the selfie video on Instagram. The video was later shared on Facebook.
Meta later restored the post, attributing its removal to an error by AI-powered automated content filters, and apologised.
Krishnan on Tuesday said that the government wanted to understand why Meta’s systems had failed and what challenges the company faced in addressing such issues, and that platforms needed a clearer understanding of India’s legal requirements and how they intended to ensure compliance.
The government had rejected the explanation as inadequate, saying the issue involved not only technical shortcomings but also national security and public order.
Meta had separately come under regulatory scrutiny after receiving a government notice last month over alleged child sexual abuse material in paid advertisements on Instagram.
Also, a Parliamentary Standing Committee on Wednesday sought an apology from Zuckerberg over the removal of Modi’s Facebook post, warning in a letter that protection and immunity available to him could be withdrawn if no apology was forthcoming within three days.
