Meta Assures Government of Enhanced Safeguards for PM Modi's Social Media Posts After Brief Block
Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has communicated to the Indian government that it will implement additional safeguards for Prime Minister Narendra Modi's social media accounts. This follows a brief block of a video posted from the Prime Minister's account on Facebook last week.
According to sources, Meta has outlined that prominent accounts will receive extra oversight, and any future decisions regarding such accounts will undergo rigorous checks by at least two senior company officials. The platform's latest communication to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) also states that only senior Meta officials will vet posts from these accounts going forward.
The video in question, uploaded on July 23, contained Prime Minister Modi's message to Gen Z promising stringent measures against paper leaks. It was briefly blocked amid a student protest led by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP). Meta attributed the block to a technical glitch in its AI-powered automated content moderation systems.
However, the government has expressed dissatisfaction with this explanation. IT Secretary S Krishnan told Press Trust of India, "It is good that they have apologised and admitted what they did was a mistake. But we are not happy with the explanation... it is not adequate, and we are seeking more details."
Sources indicate that the government is treating the matter seriously and is examining both Meta's explanation and the circumstances that led to the video's removal. The Indian authorities have pointed out that Meta relies heavily on AI-driven moderation, and if such systems can mistakenly remove content from the Prime Minister's official account, Meta must demonstrate how it will improve the reliability of its systems.
Meta's team is scheduled to meet government officials later this week to discuss this issue as well as other key matters, including content regulation. The government summoned Meta and Instagram's global heads earlier this week after the incident.
