Mark Zuckerberg apologises to India over CSAM, deepfake content
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New Delhi: Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg on Wednesday apologised over the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), deepfake content and shortcomings in the operation of the company's platforms, according to government sources.
The sources said Zuckerberg acknowledged concerns raised by the Indian government over the spread of objectionable and manipulated content and expressed regret over what were described as operational lapses on Meta's platforms.
“Mark Zuckerberg sent his apologies for the CSAM content, deepfake content and errors in operating the platform,” government sources said.
According to the sources, the government informed Meta that its role in selecting and distributing content to users could place the company outside the definition of a neutral intermediary under Indian law.
They said the authorities made it clear that the "safe harbour" protections available under the Information Technology Act may not apply if a platform is found to be actively determining which content reaches users.
“It was made clear to them that they are not covered under the intermediary definition. They select who receives the content. Safe harbour under the IT Act is not applicable. They admitted that a lot of money was paid for boosting certain types of content. They apologised and regretted the mistake,” the sources added.
Earlier in the day, IT Ministry sources said social media platforms, including Meta, must comply with Indian law after a Parliamentary Standing Committee asked Zuckerberg to issue an "unqualified apology" within three days over the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook video.
The ministry sources had also said that Meta could lose its "safe harbour" protection in India if it failed to issue the apology within the stipulated deadline.
Meanwhile, a high-level Meta delegation met IT Secretary S. Krishnan in New Delhi to discuss the erroneous takedown of the Prime Minister's video. The delegation was also scheduled to meet Union Electronics and IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
With IANS inputs