“Deepfake Crackdown: Govt Asks Meta to Strengthen Safeguards and Follow Indian Laws”

The government has asked Meta to align its content policies and enforcement mechanisms with Indian laws and the country's cultural context, while making it clear that it has not sought any overhaul of the social media giant's algorithms. The discussions between the government and Meta are expected to continue, with a strong focus on strengthening safeguards against harmful content, improving regulatory compliance and enhancing transparency around the platform's content moderation and recommendation systems, according to NDTV Profit report.

A key area of concern for the government is the growing threat posed by deepfake content. Reports said authorities have urged Meta to introduce a "human-in-the-loop" review mechanism for suspected deepfakes, ensuring that decisions on takedowns are not based solely on automated systems. The government believes human oversight is necessary to prevent erroneous moderation actions and improve accountability.

The government has also conveyed that content shared by prominent verified accounts should not be automatically classified as deepfakes. Instead, such content should undergo appropriate human review before any enforcement action is taken, reports said. In addition, Meta has been asked to put in place specific measures to ensure that deepfake content identified and removed from its platforms does not reappear or continue to circulate through repeat uploads.

Authorities have reiterated their zero-tolerance stance on child sexual abuse material (CSAM), stressing that there can be no compromise when it comes to detecting, removing and acting against such content. The issue remains a top priority in the government's engagement with the company, according to report.

The government has also sought greater clarity on how Meta's algorithms function, particularly the way content is surfaced, ranked and recommended to users. Officials are understood to be seeking increased transparency around the systems that influence content visibility and user engagement across the platform.

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