India tells Meta: Remove illegal CSAM or risk safe harbour shield
The Union Government’s firm engagement with Meta has produced tangible results, with the company demonstrating greater sensitivity and taking concrete steps on the issue of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), senior sources in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) said on Tuesday. Officials emphasised that New Delhi’s stance is straight-forward: this content is illegal under Indian law, and platforms risk losing safe harbour protections if they do not prevent or remove it.
They explained that the Government’s goal is not to censor or restrict legitimate reporting, but to ensure that Indian laws and social norms are followed and to reduce the broader harms associated with social media. “The point has been made clear,” the sources said In the meetings, Meta representatives explained how their algorithms and content moderation systems work. MeitY officials said these talks are ongoing and often require careful decisions and technical updates. They added that the focus has been on making practical improvements rather than confrontation.
Ongoing talks are also looking at making algorithms more transparent, especially in how they decide what content to show or block. Meta has shared some information about its systems, but the Government is still asking for more progress and real results. Sources acknowledge that moderation is complex, but the primary expectation is to comply with Indian law. The issue of WhatsApp usernames is being handled separately. Sources said this is not just a problem with one platform, since similar issues appear with other messaging apps.
The Government is looking at the wider digital communication system to find the right regulations. They also pointed out that concerns about social media harms are not unique to India. Countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, and France have also pressured major technology companies to improve safety. Platforms are expected to address online harms while still protecting users and allowing free expression. On AI-generated content, the ministry repeated that Indian law requires synthetic material to be clearly labelled. Platforms and companies must make sure this labelling is done properly and consistently. In India, the law already says that AI-generated content must be clearly labelled, and platforms should be able to detect and share this information at every stage, from creation to sharing. Meanwhile, in a related issue, the Supreme Court asked the Centre, all states and Union Territories, and the social media platforms Meta and X to respond to a public-interest case. The case aims to stop police organisations from posting content that reveals the identities of accused people or shows them in a dehumanising way.
Chief Justice of India, Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana heard arguments from senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who represented petitioner Hemendra Patel. The court then sent notices to the Union Government, States, and social media platforms. The petition, filed by advocate Shrutanjaya Bhardwaj, asks for the immediate removal of police social media posts that show the faces or identities of accused people or portray them in a dehumanising way.
