The Centre has asked Meta, which operates Instagram and Facebook, to review its recommendation algorithms to prevent disproportionate exposure to a limited set of narratives and strengthen checks on content that could cause public disorder or incite violence.
In an advisory dated October 10, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) directed Meta to provide adequate context for photographs, videos, graphics and other content depicting ongoing public events, particularly when their authenticity, date, location or circumstances may not be readily apparent to users, according to PTI.
The advisory also called for a review of Meta’s recommendation and content-ranking mechanisms to prevent potentially misleading, manipulated or out-of-context material from being disproportionately amplified or repeatedly recommended to users.
“Ensure that recommendation systems do not result in disproportionate exposure of users to a single or limited set of narratives, and endeavour to provide appropriate diversity of relevant and credible information,” the advisory said.
It also called for stronger mechanisms to rapidly identify, review and escalate content that gains significant reach through recommendation systems and could potentially cause widespread public confusion, apprehension, violence, or disturbances to public order.
The advisory came amid protests in Delhi by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) and opposition parties demanding the resignation of chief election commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
Similar concerns over content moderation were raised by the government earlier, following a CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in June.
While the advisory does not specify what prompted the government’s move, IT Ministry sources told PTI that agencies had flagged concerns over Meta’s recommendation algorithms, which allegedly appeared to favour certain types of content over others.
What MeitY Wants Meta To Change
The advisory asked Meta to provide users with a diversity of relevant and credible information through its recommendation systems.
It flagged videos, images, statements and graphics relating to public events that were being “prominently displayed and recommended to users” across Meta’s platforms. It warned that such material, when circulated without adequate context or amplified disproportionately, “may contribute to public confusion, apprehension and disturbance of public order and social tranquillity”.
MeitY asked the company to pay particular attention to old or selectively edited visuals presented as current events, unverified claims about emergencies and police action, and audio-visual material relating to law-and-order situations that lack adequate context. It also called for stronger mechanisms to identify and review content that could incite violence or other unlawful activity.
The advisory invoked the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the IT Rules, 2021, which require intermediaries to exercise due diligence and inform users about prohibited content. It also called for timely cooperation with law enforcement agencies and other authorised government bodies.
Meta was asked to implement the measures “with immediate effect” and inform the ministry of the action taken. The advisory stated that any action must comply with applicable laws while respecting lawful expression and legitimate public discourse.
The directions have drawn criticism from digital rights advocates over its potential implications for freedom of expression and content moderation.
Apar Gupta, founder-director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, described it as a “continuing censorship directive”, arguing that it was not legally binding. Gupta urged MeitY to withdraw the advisory and called on Meta to publicly disclose every takedown and instance of downranking carried out in response to it.
He also questioned the legal basis for the directive, arguing that phrases such as content circulated “without adequate context” and periods of “heightened public-order sensitivity” were not tied to specific provisions of the IT Act or the IT Rules.
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