The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued an advisory asking Meta to prevent algorithmic bias, curb misinformation and tighten content moderation to protect public order and social tranquillity.
The advisory, addressed to the owner of Instagram and Facebook, asks the company to ensure that its recommendation systems do not expose users disproportionately to “a single or limited set of narratives.” It also asks Meta to provide appropriate diversity of relevant and credible information.
MeitY asked Meta to review its recommendation and content-ranking systems so that potentially misleading, manipulated or out-of-context content is not amplified disproportionately or recommended repeatedly.
It also asked the company to strengthen mechanisms for quickly identifying, reviewing and escalating content that is gaining significant reach and could cause widespread confusion, apprehension, violence or disturbance of public order.
Meta has further been asked to step up checks on content that could cause public disorder or incite violence or other unlawful activity, and to give adequate context for photographs, videos, graphics and other content showing ongoing public events.
The ministry also directed Meta to cooperate in a timely manner with law enforcement and other authorised government agencies. This includes providing information or assistance in line with applicable law and within the timelines set under the IT Rules, 2021.
IT Ministry sources said the ministry had received reports from agencies that Meta’s platforms were not promoting all narratives equally and that their algorithms appeared to favour one kind of content over others.
While the advisory does not identify any specific trigger, it comes amid protests in Delhi led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and opposition parties, who want Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar to resign over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.