Govt to question Meta executives on CSAM, WhatsApp usernames and content moderation

The Centre is expected to meet senior executives from Meta on August 5 to seek explanations on a range of concerns, including the handling of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), risks associated with WhatsApp usernames, and the treatment of verified and prominent accounts across its platforms, it was announced on Tuesday.

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 meeting would cover several issues that have recently raised concerns within the government.

Among the key topics likely to be discussed is Meta's handling of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

“The government wants to understand the steps the company has taken to curb the spread of such content on its platforms,” Krishnan said.

"There are a range of issues. The issue of CSAM was raised with them, so we will want to understand what measures have been taken to tackle that," he added.

The government is also expected to raise concerns related to synthetically generated content and safeguards surrounding content removals involving prominent personalities and verified accounts.

“Adequate checks should be in place whenever content from verified users is taken down,” Krishnan mentioned.

Senior officials are also likely to seek details on Meta's internal protocols for addressing these issues, why some of the existing mechanisms may not be functioning effectively, and the challenges the company faces in implementing them.

The meeting comes days after the government summoned Meta's President of Global Affairs, Joel Kaplan, to appear in person and explain the company's content moderation policies.

The summons followed the removal of a social media post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in which he addressed protesting students regarding measures being undertaken by the government to tackle examination paper leaks.

Meta later clarified that the post had been removed due to an error in its automated enforcement systems and apologised for the unintended takedown.

Meta has faced increasing scrutiny from the government over the past several weeks on multiple fronts.

Earlier this year, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology asked WhatsApp not to roll out its username feature until concerns related to impersonation, online fraud and cybercrime were adequately addressed.

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