Centre To Meet Meta Executives Over CSAM, WhatsApp Usernames And Content Moderation

The Centre is expected to meet senior Meta executives on August 5 to seek explanations on several issues, including the handling of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), risks associated with WhatsApp usernames, and the treatment of verified and prominent accounts across the company’s platforms.

Speaking on the sidelines of the launch of Voice of India, an independent multimodal artificial intelligence evaluation platform developed jointly by AI4Bharat and Josh Talks AI, Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology Secretary S Krishnan said the discussions would cover multiple issues that have recently raised concerns within the government.

Among the key issues is Meta’s handling of CSAM, with the government seeking details on the measures taken to prevent the spread of such content on its platforms.

The government is also likely to discuss safeguards related to synthetically generated content and content removals involving verified and prominent accounts.

Officials are likely to seek details about Meta’s internal protocols, the effectiveness of its existing mechanisms and the challenges it faces in implementing them.

The meeting comes days after the government summoned Meta President of Global Affairs Joel Kaplan to explain the company’s content moderation policies.

The summons followed the removal of a social media post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing protesting students on measures to tackle examination paper leaks.

Meta later said an error in its automated enforcement systems caused the post’s removal and apologised for the unintended takedown.

Meta has come under increasing government scrutiny in recent weeks.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology asked WhatsApp to delay the rollout of its username feature until it adequately addressed concerns related to impersonation, online fraud and cybercrime.

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