New Delhi: The Government of India will question Meta's global team - summoned after the social media company briefly restricted Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Facebook post - on issues relating to algorithmic bias, the platform's algorithmic processes and their role in public order, sources said on Friday.
The questioning next week comes against the backdrop of the government's summons to Meta's top executives after Prime Minister Modi's recent Facebook post addressing India's youth and promising stringent action against paper leaks was briefly restricted on the platform.
While the US-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 had said that the content was removed "in error" and was restored on the platform.
Government sources on Friday pointed out that the matter is not just about technical aspects, but about "national security and public order".
Sources said that Meta's global team - expected in Delhi sometime in the middle of next week - will be "categorically" asked to clarify on issues around algorithmic bias, how their algorithm operates, and the company's role in public order.
The Meta team will also appear before a parliamentary panel. An email sent to Meta for comments did not elicit a response.
In the immediate aftermath of the issue, Meta had informed the IT Ministry that posts by the prime minister and select prominent accounts will be subject to additional oversight on the platform, with multiple levels of checks involving senior company officials. Meta wrote to the government outlining the specifics of enhanced and rigorous safeguards it implemented (on July 28) for content posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other prominent accounts.
It is pertinent to mention that Hyderabad Cyber Crime police has also registered cases against Meta India head Arun Srinivas and certain accounts on Facebook and Instagram over allegedly morphed and AI posts targeting PM Modi.
Government sources said that when rules and laws are violated, liabilities are bound to arise.
Sources further said that the impact of social media on society is well-documented. They also cited studies indicating the extent to which excessive use of social media can adversely affect the cognitive and mental well-being of children and adults.
"Keeping all these aspects in mind, steps that are needed will be taken," a source said, asserting that the government is "serious" about these issues.
As such, Meta has faced regulatory scrutiny on multiple occasions in a matter of weeks.
In the latest instance, Modi's July 23 Instagram post, later shared on Facebook, had marked his first direct selfie video aimed at engaging with the youth and underscoring the government's commitment to crack down on paper leaks amid students' protests organised by the Cockroach Janta Party at that time. The Facebook version of the post was briefly restricted by Meta before being restored.
IT Ministry has maintained that Meta's explanation to the government, citing a technical glitch in the automated content filters, was "not reasonable". They had said that if indeed a glitch in the automated system caused the error, then Meta, being a technology company, must hasten to improve its own tools.
Meta officials, it is learnt, had attributed the error to AI-powered automated content filters reviewing shared posts and subsequent videos that circulated following the original post by the prime minister.
Sources had said that Meta claimed that its automated filters inadvertently ended up briefly removing the original post itself.
By summoning global executives, the government also wants to ensure that Meta's leadership -- all the way to the top -- is made fully aware of concerns being raised by Indian authorities. The summoning of global executives, rather than only local representatives, underscores the Centre's intent to directly engage Meta's international leadership on platform accountability.
Meanwhile, a Parliamentary panel has summoned representatives of major social media platforms, including Instagram, along with officials of the ministries of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and Home Affairs, on August 3 to discuss regulation of social media and digital platforms.
It may be recalled that IT ministry had recently slapped a stern notice on Meta over Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) in paid advertisements on Instagram. It had also issued a notice to WhatsApp, questioning the Meta-owned platform's proposed username feature, as the government flagged concerns that it could materially increase online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams, and impersonation attacks.
