India presses Meta for swift action on harmful content after Zuckerberg's apology

Meta’s chief executive Mark Zuckerberg visited New Delhi on August 5 and offered an apology to the Indian authorities over several compliance lapses. The apology addressed the platform’s exposure to child sexual abuse material, the proliferation of deep‑fake media, and technical errors in its operating system that impacted Indian users.

According to officials, the government clarified that Meta does not qualify as a "neutral intermediary" protected by the IT Act’s safe harbour provisions. The company must therefore assume full accountability for any unlawful content appearing on its services.

Zuckerberg acknowledged that Meta had previously spent considerable amounts to promote particular categories of content, a decision he now regrets. He expressed sincere remorse and outlined a plan to upgrade content‑moderation technology and strengthen partnership with Indian law‑enforcement agencies.

The parliamentary committee overseeing digital platforms has already demanded a no‑conditions apology within three days for the removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s post on Facebook. Non‑compliance could jeopardise Meta’s safe‑harbour eligibility in the country.

A senior Meta delegation later discussed the removal of the Prime Minister’s video with IT Secretary S. Krishnan, emphasizing the need for prompt remediation of any wrongful takedowns.

Meta and other social‑media representatives emphasized that they already operate rigorous internal guidelines, robust fact‑checking frameworks, and continuous monitoring mechanisms to prevent misuse of their platforms.