New Delhi: The Centre has asked Meta to strengthen its response to deepfakes and other harmful AI-generated content on its platforms, while separately examining whether the company’s growing role in deciding what users see could have implications for its status as an intermediary under Indian law, sources said.
The government is examining the functioning of Meta’s recommendation systems, particularly how algorithms select, rank and promote content for individual users. The review comes amid growing scrutiny of the role played by social media platforms in shaping the information consumed by their users.
According to sources, one of the key questions before the government is whether a platform can continue to claim intermediary protection when its systems actively determine which content is shown to particular users.
The issue becomes particularly relevant where recommendation systems influence the visibility of content or where platforms provide mechanisms for content to be promoted for payment. Officials are examining whether such functions could have a bearing on the legal distinction between hosting third-party content and actively determining its distribution.
Under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, intermediaries can receive protection from liability for third-party information made available through their platforms, subject to compliance with prescribed conditions. The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, also impose various due-diligence obligations on platforms.
Failure to comply with these requirements can have consequences for the legal protection available to an intermediary and may also lead to action under applicable laws, depending on the nature of the violation.
The government has also raised the issue of deepfakes with Meta during discussions held in recent days. Officials have sought corrective measures against AI-generated content that could be misleading, harmful or otherwise unlawful.
The growing availability of generative artificial intelligence has made the creation of realistic but manipulated videos, images and audio considerably easier, increasing concerns over their potential misuse on social media platforms.
The Centre is expected to hold similar discussions with other major digital platforms as it examines whether their content recommendation and distribution mechanisms are consistent with the legal framework governing intermediaries in India.
The review could have broader implications for social media companies, particularly as algorithm-driven recommendation systems increasingly determine the content users encounter on digital platforms.
