The government has dramatically reduced the online content takedown time for sensitive matters to 2 hours from the earlier 24 hours given to social media platforms, as per an official statement released on Thursday. According to the statement, amendments were made on February 10, 2026, in the IT Rules 2021 to strengthen the regulatory framework to address harms arising from synthetically generated information (SGI), including deepfakes and AI-generated content. The new timeline applies specifically to CSAM, deepfakes, misleading AI-generated material and other objectionable content considered harmful under India's evolving regulatory framework. Officials indicated that Meta's proposed measures would be closely monitored to assess whether they translate into faster and more effective enforcement, with the engagement between the government and Meta expected to continue with technical consultations.
Meta has pledged to tighten its defences against child sexual abuse material, deepfakes and other AI-generated harmful content, as the company wrapped up a second round of talks with the Centre on content moderation and platform accountability. According to NDTV Profit, the discussions, involving senior Meta executives, Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, centred on the company's content moderation practices and measures to strengthen user safety across its platforms. Meta assured the government that it would enhance due diligence measures to detect and remove CSAM, deepfakes and misleading AI-generated content more effectively. The company also outlined improvements to its moderation systems aimed at addressing emerging risks posed by generative artificial intelligence.
Mark Zuckerberg has issued a formal apology for the proliferation of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and deepfake content on Meta platforms. According to NDTV Profit, Zuckerberg conveyed his apologies on Wednesday for the errors made by the company in operating its platforms. The apology comes after MEITY officials informed Meta that they are not covered under the 'Intermediary' definition and that safe harbour under the IT Act was not applicable to them. The Centre told the Instagram parent company that it did not qualify for this definition as social media platforms select who receives the content. Meta also admitted that a lot of money was paid for boosting 'certain types of content', as per NDTV Profit reports, with the company reportedly apologising for the mistakes it made regarding the matter.
Parliamentary Standing Committee Chairman Nishikant Dubey has demanded that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg personally apologise for the brief takedown of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook video. According to reports from The Times of India, NDTV, and Business Standard, Dubey warned that Meta could lose its safe harbour protection under the IT Act if the company fails to address the incident properly. The committee held an over three-hour meeting on Monday during which MPs questioned Meta representatives extensively about the incident. As per NDTV, Dubey emphasized that "Mark Zuckerberg must apologise for deleting the Prime Minister's video," noting that Meta themselves admitted to the five-hour removal period. The meeting, chaired by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, included representatives from Meta, Google, YouTube, X, Snapchat, the Home Ministry and MeitY, as reported by The Times of India. In a significant development, a director of the Lok Sabha secretariat has now sent a letter to the secretary of the Ministry of Electronics and IT, stating that protection and immunity for Zuckerberg may be withdrawn if there is no apology in three days.
The incident has raised significant concerns about Meta's legal protections in India, with the government implementing stricter regulatory measures. Dubey warned that Meta could lose its safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act if Zuckerberg fails to apologise. According to NDTV, the committee has said "two things—that the apology should come from Mark Zuckerberg, and if it does not, then the safe harbour protection available to Meta should be reconsidered." The new IT Rules mandate that significant social media intermediaries (SSMIs), platforms with over 50 lakh user base in India, must take reasonable efforts to deploy appropriate technical measures, including automated tools or other suitable mechanisms, to proactively identify information that depicts any act or simulation in any form depicting rape, child sexual abuse or conduct. In case of failure of the intermediaries to observe the legal obligations as provided in the IT Rules, they lose their exemption from third party information provided under section 79 of the IT Act and are liable for consequential action or prosecution as provided under any extant law.
