Government examines Meta’s recommendation system for intermediary status
The Centre is examining whether Meta’s recommendation systems and paid content promotion align with its intermediary status under India’s IT Act, amid concerns over content moderation, deepfakes and unlabelled AI content.
India's government is scrutinising Meta's recommendation algorithms as it considers whether the company meets the criteria for intermediary status under the Information Technology Act. The central question revolves around whether Meta's decision-making process in what content is displayed to users constitutes publication, and therefore requires the company to assume responsibility for its actions.
Intermediaries benefit from legal protections under the IT Act, but must comply with strict due diligence requirements to retain exemption from liability for third-party content. Meta's recommendation systems specifically raise concerns as they actively determine what users see, potentially placing the company in a role that goes beyond intermediary status.
The government has requested Meta to implement measures to tackle deepfakes, child sexual abuse material, and unlabelled synthetic content, as well as to enhance human oversight in content moderation, particularly in languages and contexts relevant to India. Meta has acknowledged the need for improvement and has committed to taking concerted action to address these issues, including the recent apology for the temporary removal of Prime Minister Modi's Facebook post.
The government will continue to monitor Meta's progress and is expected to convene further discussions with the company in the near future.
Written by urgent.news from YourStory's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — it may contain errors, so check the original before relying on it.
