Mark Zuckerberg apologises for Meta's CSAM, operational blunders in India
What's the story
Meta's CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologized for the presence of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and deepfake content on his company's platforms. The apology came during recent meetings of Meta's top officials with the Indian government, Moneycontrol reported. According to the report, Zuckerberg admitted to operational lapses in handling harmful content on its platforms.
Government concerns
Joel Kaplan met with Indian officials
During a meeting today, Joel Kaplan, Meta's Chief Global Affairs Officer, and other global executives met with officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY).
The Indian government expressed concerns over Meta's operations, saying they go beyond those of a passive intermediary.
This is because the company actively decides how content is distributed and recommended to users. Hence, the safe harbour provisions under the IT Act do not apply to Meta.
Content concerns
Meta accepted payments to promote certain content
As per reports, Meta team admitted that "lot of money" was paid for promoting certain type of content and "regretted the mistakes."
This comes amid row over the temporary deletion of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook post, with a parliamentary committee setting a three-day deadline for Zuckerberg to issue an "unqualified apology."
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also launched an investigation into alleged advertisements related to CSAM on Meta's platforms.