Zuckerberg apologises for CSAM, deepfake content; errors in operating platform, say sources
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised for child abuse content, deepfakes and errors in operating the platform, sources said on Wednesday (August 5, 2026) after
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologised for child abuse content, deepfakes and errors in operating the platform, sources said on Wednesday (August 5, 2026) after the company's global team met IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, following the government's recent summons over the removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's post on Facebook. Government sources said it was made clear to the Meta team that they are not covered under the 'intermediary' definition. The social media platform selects who receives the content, and Safe harbour under the IT Act is not applicable, according to sources. Meta team admitted that a lot of money was paid for boosting a certain type of content; they apologised and regretted the mistake, they added. Meta team, including Global Affairs officer Joel Kaplan, on Wednesday (August 5, 2026) met IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and had a separate meeting with IT Secretary S. Krishnan. The meeting assumes significance 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. While the U.S.-headquartered social media giant had attributed the incident to a technical glitch and apologised, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had found the explanation "inadequate".
The company, which owns Facebook, had said that the content was removed "in error" and was subsequently restored on the platform. Meta has also been under regulatory scrutiny over the issue of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) in paid 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)," Mr. Krishnan told reporters on Tuesday (August 4, 2026). 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," Mr. Krishnan added. For platforms, there needs to be a clear understanding of India's law, what compliance must look like, "and a clearer understanding of how they intend to make sure compliance happens", Mr. Krishnan said.
The BriefWire