Meta's Mark Zuckerberg apologises for child abuse material, deepfakes, content boosting: Sources
Meta also expressed regret over the way certain content was handled on its platforms.
- Aug 5, 2026,
- Updated Aug 5, 2026 5:12 PM IST
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised for the presence of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), deepfake content and operational errors on the company's platforms, sources told India Today on Wednesday.
According to the sources, Meta also expressed regret over the way certain content was handled on its platforms.
Sources said it was made clear to Meta that it cannot claim protection as an intermediary under the Information Technology Act. The company was told it does not fall within the definition of an intermediary because it selects who receives content on its platforms.
As a result, the safe harbour protection available under the IT Act would not apply.
Meta admitted that substantial amounts of money had been paid to boost certain types of content on its platforms, sources said, adding that the company apologised and expressed regret over the mistake.
Earlier today, Meta's global team met top IT Ministry officials. The government had summoned them over the removal of PM Narendra Modi's post on Facebook. Among the concerns that government officials raised were wrongful action on a prominent post and lapses in curbing child sexual abuse material on social media platforms.
Top Meta executives, including Global Affairs officer Joel Kaplan, met IT secretary S Krishnan and other senior officials of Meity. The discussion lasted 45 minutes.
The meeting is significant as the government had summoned Meta's top global executives after Prime Minister Modi's recent Facebook post addressing Indian youth and promising stringent action against paper leaks was briefly restricted on the platform.
The tech giant had attributed the incident to a technical glitch and apologised, but the IT Ministry had found the explanation "inadequate". Meta, which owns Facebook, had said that the content was removed "in error" and was subsequently restored on the platform.
The company has also been under regulatory scrutiny over the issue of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) in paid advertisements on Instagram, and the government, last month, slapped a notice on the social media giant over the issue.
"There are a range of issues...the CSAM issue was raised, so what measures have been taken regarding that, and synthetically generated information ... to what extent that is being looked at. Then, for prominent personalities when they have verified accounts, if content has to be taken down, there have to be safeguards...all of these will be the issues (taken up)," Krishnan told reporters on Tuesday.
Meta, as one of the leading technology companies in the world, should have the technology to address such issues effectively, he had said. "We would like to understand from them (Meta) as to why some of these things have not been working the way they are supposed to work, and what are the challenges," Krishnan added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised for the presence of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), deepfake content and operational errors on the company's platforms, sources told India Today on Wednesday.
According to the sources, Meta also expressed regret over the way certain content was handled on its platforms.
Sources said it was made clear to Meta that it cannot claim protection as an intermediary under the Information Technology Act. The company was told it does not fall within the definition of an intermediary because it selects who receives content on its platforms.
As a result, the safe harbour protection available under the IT Act would not apply.
Meta admitted that substantial amounts of money had been paid to boost certain types of content on its platforms, sources said, adding that the company apologised and expressed regret over the mistake.
Earlier today, Meta's global team met top IT Ministry officials. The government had summoned them over the removal of PM Narendra Modi's post on Facebook. Among the concerns that government officials raised were wrongful action on a prominent post and lapses in curbing child sexual abuse material on social media platforms.
Top Meta executives, including Global Affairs officer Joel Kaplan, met IT secretary S Krishnan and other senior officials of Meity. The discussion lasted 45 minutes.
The meeting is significant as the government had summoned Meta's top global executives after Prime Minister Modi's recent Facebook post addressing Indian youth and promising stringent action against paper leaks was briefly restricted on the platform.
The tech giant had attributed the incident to a technical glitch and apologised, but the IT Ministry had found the explanation "inadequate". Meta, which owns Facebook, had said that the content was removed "in error" and was subsequently restored on the platform.
The company has also been under regulatory scrutiny over the issue of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) in paid advertisements on Instagram, and the government, last month, slapped a notice on the social media giant over the issue.
"There are a range of issues...the CSAM issue was raised, so what measures have been taken regarding that, and synthetically generated information ... to what extent that is being looked at. Then, for prominent personalities when they have verified accounts, if content has to be taken down, there have to be safeguards...all of these will be the issues (taken up)," Krishnan told reporters on Tuesday.
Meta, as one of the leading technology companies in the world, should have the technology to address such issues effectively, he had said. "We would like to understand from them (Meta) as to why some of these things have not been working the way they are supposed to work, and what are the challenges," Krishnan added.
(With inputs from PTI)
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