Mark Zuckerberg apologises over deepfakes, child sexual abuse content on Meta platforms: Sources

Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg has apologised to India over the availability of child sexual abuse material (CSEAM) and deepfake content on his social media platforms, sources in the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) on Wednesday.Meta chief Mark Zuckerberg. (Bloomberg)The development took place during a meeting of senior global executives from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, with MeitY.Zuckerberg also sent his apology through top officials for the errors in operating the intermediary platforms, the sources said. “Meta admitted that a lot of money was paid for boosting certain types of content. They apologised and regretted the mistake,” they added. Earlier in the day, a Parliamentary panel gave Zuckerberg three days to apologise for the removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's video from Facebook and threatened to withdraw immunity if it was not done, a move that may lead to prosecution and registration of an First Information Report (FIR). The parliamentary standing committee on information technology, headed by BJP MP Nishikant Dubey, also demanded action against intermediary platforms that carry CSEAM and demeaning material against women.“It was made clear to them that they are not covered under the Intermediary definition. They select who receives the content. Safe harbour under the IT Act not applicable,” the source quoted above said.The development also comes amid growing scrutiny of Meta’s content moderation systems. A BBC Eye investigation earlier reported observing around 30 unique advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material, which it reported to the platform and Indian authorities.