Has Meta been complying with Indian laws? The central government has questioned the company’s officials on this matter.
Regarding this, sources in the central government said on Thursday:
In connection with the NEET exam question paper leak issue, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had posted a video on Facebook last month appealing to the students who were protesting. That video was temporarily removed for 5 hours and then reposted on the platform.
Following this, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology sent a summons seeking an explanation from Meta, the parent company of Facebook. In response, a Meta team appeared before officials of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. Officials from the ministry have been questioning that team continuously.
During the hearing held on Wednesday, Joel Kaplan, Meta’s head of global affairs, who had come from the United States to appear for the inquiry, is said to have handed over Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s apology letter to Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Following this, questioning of the Meta team continued for a second day on Thursday. At that time, officials raised questions about whether Meta complies with Indian laws and about its algorithm system. The Meta team said that it is true there are various issues, including deepfake videos and posts in which minors are sexually exploited, and that it is taking serious steps to address them.
Similarly, Joel Kaplan met and spoke with Union Minister for Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw on Thursday. It is also said that the meetings will continue for another 3 to 4 days, and that the central government is next set to hold consultations with Meta’s technical team.
