Mark Zuckerberg apologises to Indian govt over child porn on Facebook, removal of PM Modi's video
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised to the Indian government following criticism over serious content moderation and operational failures on Meta’s platforms. According to reports cited by The Week, the apology covered the presence of child sexual abuse material on Facebook as well as mistakes involving political and manipulated content.
Among the operational failures highlighted were the temporary removal of a video posted by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the alleged promotion of deepfake content across Meta’s social media platforms. Meta acknowledged that significant amounts of money had been spent boosting certain types of content and expressed regret over these mistakes.
The controversy escalated after India’s Parliamentary Standing Committee on Electronics and IT demanded that Zuckerberg issue an unconditional apology within three days over the removal of Modi’s speech from Facebook. The committee warned that Meta could potentially lose its legal safe harbour protection under India’s Information Technology Act. This protection generally limits an intermediary’s liability for content posted by users.
The Indian government also reportedly argued that Meta should not necessarily qualify as a conventional intermediary because its systems actively determine which users receive particular content. This distinction could have significant implications for Meta’s legal responsibility for material distributed through its platforms.
Following the parliamentary pressure, a Meta delegation led by Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan met India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Secretary S. Krishnan. During the approximately 45 minute meeting, Meta officials explained that Modi’s video had been removed erroneously.
The dispute was broader than the Modi video. Indian authorities were also concerned about child sexual abuse material and content demeaning women appearing on social media platforms. The parliamentary committee called for tougher measures against platforms hosting such material. Earlier scrutiny had specifically involved Instagram advertisements allegedly facilitating access to child sexual abuse material.
Overall, the episode represents a significant confrontation between Meta and Indian authorities over platform accountability, algorithmic content distribution, moderation failures and the extent to which large social media companies should retain intermediary liability protections.
