Meta's team to meet MeitY officials over compliance with Indian laws

Meta's technical team is meeting with India's IT Ministry (MeitY) to discuss compliance with Indian laws. The talks will also address issues related to WhatsApp and growing concerns over sophisticated deepfake content on its platforms.

Discussions on Legal Compliance

Meta's technical team is scheduled to meet officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Friday as the government's engagement with the company on compliance-related issues continues, government sources told ANI.

Meta's global team is expected to remain in India for a few more days, with three to four additional meetings likely to take place, the sources said. They added that the upcoming discussions will also cover issues related to WhatsApp.

According to the sources, the central agenda of the meetings is to assess whether Meta's platforms are complying with Indian laws. Government sources said digital platforms operating in India cannot function solely according to laws applicable in other jurisdictions and must comply with the country's legal framework.

"These are technical matters, and every aspect has to be understood," the sources said, adding that the objective is to ensure the law is applied for the benefit of society. The sources said online platforms have a responsibility towards society and must comply with the law like any other institution. They added that the government is not looking at the issue from the perspective of creating a regulator but is focused on enforcing the existing legal framework. Referring to constitutional provisions, the sources said Article 19 provides for reasonable restrictions while balancing other constitutional rights, including those related to livelihood.

Focus on Deepfakes

The discussions also come amid growing concerns over the increasing sophistication of deepfakes. Government sources said there has been an improvement in the quality of deepfakes, making them more difficult to detect, and stressed that maintaining public trust is essential.

"Society works on trust, and that trust should be maintained," the sources said.

Ongoing Engagement and Recent Apology

Officials also said the government remains in regular touch with all major digital platforms, including Meta, X and Telegram, on issues relating to compliance and other technical matters.

The ongoing engagement comes a day after Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg apologised to the Indian government over child sexual abuse material (CSAM), deepfake content and operational lapses on the company's platforms during discussions with government officials, according to sources. (ANI)

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianetnews Editorial staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)