India examines Meta's legal immunity amid deepfake and algorithm scrutiny

Meta deepfakes Information Technology Act algorithmic recommendation intermediary liability

The Indian Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has directed Meta to overhaul its algorithms and provide a compliance roadmap to combat the spread of deepfakes, propaganda, and manipulated content. During recent meetings, Meta's technical team acknowledged gaps in its current systems for handling harmful content and outlined potential technical measures to address synthetic media.

Beyond content moderation, the Indian government is scrutinizing Meta's legal status under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act. Officials are examining whether the company's use of recommendation algorithms—which determine what content is shown to specific users—and its promotion of content for payment, effectively move the platform from a neutral intermediary to a publisher.

If Meta is deemed to have editorial control through these algorithmic processes, it could lose its conditional immunity from liability for third-party content. This would expose the company and its executives to legal prosecution under the IT Act and the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita. The government also intends to consult other social media platforms to determine if their distribution mechanisms meet the statutory definition of an intermediary.

Entities: Dan Sexton · Government of India · India · Internet Watch Foundation · Meta · Meta Platforms · Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology · NSPCC

Claims

What the coverage asserts, and how well corroborated each claim is across sources.

[● 6 SOURCES] The Centre is examining whether Meta's recommendation systems and paid content promotion are consistent with intermediary protections under Section 79 of the IT Act. (Government sources)
[● 2 SOURCES] Meta acknowledged gaps in its current systems for detecting and handling harmful content. (Meta)
[● 3 SOURCES] The Indian government plans to consult with other social media platforms regarding their algorithmic distribution mechanisms and intermediary status. (Government sources)
[● 3 SOURCES] The Indian government has directed Meta to revamp its algorithms to limit the spread of propaganda, deepfakes, and manipulated media. (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY))
[● 2 SOURCES] The government has requested Meta to comply with India's data-localisation requirements. (Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY))