Meta apologises for removing PM Modi's Facebook post, admits boosting: Govt
Meta Platforms, on Wednesday (5 August), apologised for the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook post from the platform, a spokesperson confirmed to
Meta Platforms, on Wednesday (5 August), apologised for the temporary removal of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook post from the platform, a spokesperson confirmed to Mint. Meta's global delegation, led by Global Affairs head Joel Kaplan, acknowledged lapses in the functioning of the company's platforms during its meeting with Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw. Meta, which operates Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, admitted to errors related to platform operations. “I apologised to the minister on behalf of Meta for the error restricting PM Modi’s post,” Kaplan has said, as confirmed by the spokesperson to Mint. Further, PTI citing government officials familiar with the matter reported that Meta admitted that “a lot of money was paid for boosting a certain type of content”. Before meeting Vaishnaw, Kaplan and his team held separate discussions with IT Secretary S Krishnan. Quick answers to key questions • 5 QUESTIONS 1 Why did Meta temporarily remove PM Modi's Facebook post? ⌵ Meta attributed the temporary removal of PM Modi's Facebook post to a technical glitch, which led to the content being unavailable for several hours. 2 What is safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act? ⌵ Safe harbour refers to legal immunity granted to online platforms from liability for user-generated content, contingent upon their compliance with specific legal obligations.
3 What consequences does Meta face for removing PM Modi's video? ⌵ Meta could lose its safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act if it fails to comply with legal obligations and if an unqualified apology from Zuckerberg is not issued. 4 What measures is Meta taking to prevent future content removals for prominent accounts? ⌵ Meta is implementing enhanced scrutiny and additional safeguards for content from prominent figures to avoid similar incidents occurring in the future. 5 How did the Indian government respond to the removal of PM Modi's Facebook post? ⌵ The Indian government summoned Meta's global executives and demanded accountability, highlighting concerns over national security and the operation of the platform. The talks took place after the government summoned Meta's top global executives over the temporary removal of PM Modi's Facebook post last month. The company had attributed the incident to a technical glitch. Also Read | Meta, Anthropic invited to meet with Trump officials about AI safety testing Government officials said the company's representatives apologised and conveyed regret over the incident as well as other lapses related to content moderation. They added that Meta executives acknowledged that "a lot of money was paid for boosting a certain type of content". However, they did not provide further details on the matter.
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