Meta apologises for temporary restriction of PM Modi's Facebook post, conveys regret to IT Minister

NEW DELHI, (IANS): Meta on Wednesday apologised for the temporary restriction of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook post, with the company's Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan saying the apology was conveyed directly to Union Electronics and Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.

"I apologised to the minister on behalf of Meta for the error restricting PM Modi's post," Kaplan said in a statement shared by the company with NDTV.

Kaplan was part of a global Meta delegation that met Vaishnaw on Wednesday, during which the company acknowledged lapses in the functioning of its platforms.

The delegation also held separate discussions with IT Secretary S. Krishnan ahead of the ministerial meeting.

The latest apology comes amid heightened scrutiny of Meta's operations in India after concerns were raised over content moderation and the brief restriction of the Prime Minister's Facebook post.

Earlier in the day, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also 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.

Sources said Zuckerberg acknowledged concerns raised by the government regarding the spread of objectionable and manipulated content and expressed regret over what were described as errors in the operation of the platform.

Government sources further claimed that authorities conveyed to Meta that its role in selecting and distributing content to users could place it outside the definition of a neutral intermediary under Indian law.

According to the sources, officials 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 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 said.