- Meta has told the government it has acted on concerns regarding CSAM content.
- Officials have sought explanations from Meta and stressed that unlawful CSAM content cannot be protected by safe-harbour provisions.
- Safe harbour cannot be taken for granted if unlawful content is appearing on the platform, according to a government official.
- Meta indicated that it was dealing with the recurrence of content that is considered unlawful.
- Safe harbour can lead to consequences, including loss of that protection, if the requirements of the law are not met.
- The presence of paid content linked to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on Instagram has brought the Indian government and Mark Zuckerberg into a broader discussion on how global social media platforms can strengthen safeguards while complying with Indian law.
The Indian government has observed some action from Meta regarding child sexual abuse material (CSAM), with officials indicating that the message about the potential loss of safe harbour protections has been communicated effectively.123456
A Meta team, led by Chief Global Affairs Officer Joel Kaplan, met with Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on August 5 and 6, following concerns over the platform's handling of CSAM, deepfakes, bot accounts, and AI-generated content.
Officials cited Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, which provides intermediaries with liability protection for third-party content, contingent upon meeting due-diligence obligations. The ministry had previously issued a notice to Meta regarding CSAM appearing in paid advertisements on Instagram.
The presence of paid content linked to CSAM has prompted discussions on how global social media platforms can enhance safeguards while adhering to Indian law.
“On CSAM, the position is very clear and unequivocal - if this kind of unlawful content is appearing on the platform, safe harbour cannot be taken for granted,” a government official stated.
The official further noted, “Safe harbour, where the requirements of the law are not met, can lead to consequences, including loss of that protection.” Meta has indicated it is actively addressing the recurrence of unlawful content, emphasizing its use of automated systems and human reviewers to combat child exploitation.
“Officials have sought explanations from Meta regarding the presence of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on Instagram, emphasizing that unlawful content cannot be protected by safe-harbour provisions. Meta has indicated it is addressing the recurrence of such content, but consequences may arise if legal requirements are not met.”
