Meta on Wednesday wrote to the Centre detailing a set of enhanced safeguards for content posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and other prominent accounts following the recent controversy over the temporary restriction of the Prime Minister’s Facebook post, PTI reported, citing sources.
According to sources quoted by the news agency, the social media company informed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) that posts from the Prime Minister and other high-profile accounts will now undergo additional oversight, with multiple layers of review involving senior company officials before any moderation action is taken.
The news agency also said that Meta representatives are expected to meet government officials later this week or early next week to discuss the matter further.
However, PTI reported that an email sent to Meta seeking official comment did not receive a response.
Centre had termed Meta’s explanation ‘inadequate’
This development comes a day after the NDA-led central government summoned a senior Meta executive over the temporary restriction of Prime Minister Modi’s Facebook post addressing India’s youth and promising stringent action against paper leaks.
While Meta apologised for the incident and attributed it to a technical glitch, the government said the explanation was insufficient.
Speaking on Tuesday, IT Secretary S Krishnan said the company had acknowledged its mistake but had failed to provide a satisfactory explanation.
“It is good that they have apologised and admitted what they did was a mistake. But we are not happy with the explanation. It is not adequate, and we are seeking more details,” Krishnan had said.
AI-powered filters blamed for temporary removal
According to PTI, Meta informed the government that an issue with its AI-powered automated content moderation filters briefly led to the removal of the Prime Minister’s Facebook post.
Originally uploaded on Instagram on July 23 before being shared on Facebook, the post featured PM Modi’s first direct selfie video aimed at engaging with young people and reiterating the government’s commitment to tackling paper leaks amid student protests.
A Meta spokesperson had earlier said the content was removed “in error” and was subsequently restored on the platform.
Government says matter remains under review
The government has maintained that attributing the incident to a technical glitch was “not reasonable” and stressed that the issue had not been closed.
Officials reportedly conveyed that if automated systems were indeed responsible for the error, Meta, as a technology company, should strengthen its moderation tools to prevent similar incidents in the future. PTI also said Meta explained that its AI-driven content filters, while reviewing reposts and related content, inadvertently flagged and briefly removed the Prime Minister’s original Facebook post.
(With inputs from PTI)