Govt-Meta talks turn technical; company outlines measures to curb deepfakes, child abuse material
Sources say the government has asked the company to take specific measures and report back on the outcomes
After two days of intensive questioning of Meta, the government on Friday shifted to technical discussions with the social media giant, during which the company detailed how it plans to address the Centre's concerns over deepfakes, child sexual abuse material and unlabelled synthetically-generated content on its platforms, sources said.
Sources told PTI that the government has asked Meta to take specific measures and report back on the outcomes.
Officials will regularly follow up with the company on its progress, sources asserted.
One of the key issues discussed was the reappearance, continued circulation and virality of AI-generated harmful content, even after it has been flagged. The government also questioned Meta on why AI-generated videos without labels continue to remain visible on its platforms despite the IT rules requiring synthetic content to be identified and labelled, sources said.
The government asked Meta to have greater human oversight in content moderation, with enhanced awareness and understanding of Indian languages, as well as local nuances.
Another meeting is expected to be held in the coming week, sources said.
After two days of meetings that saw IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw questioning Meta's team, led by global affairs head Joel Kaplan, on the content recommendation algorithms and the social media giant's compliance with local laws, day three of discussions was "technical". It delved deep into measures proposed by the company to address the government's concerns.
Meta explained how its systems work and outlined how it plans to address the government's concerns over deepfakes, child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and bot accounts. The company told the government that it has solutions to tackle these issues and detailed how they could be deployed.
Government sources said the objective was not censorship, but to ensure that the company complies with Indian laws.
Sources had earlier said that the company admitted there were "serious issues" and assured it will take continuous action to resolve them.
The government will continue to press the company to undertake sustained measures, actions and improvements to address its various concerns, they added.
