Meta in Trouble Again! Child Sexual Abuse Content Found on Platform, Zuckerberg Reportedly Apologizes to India

Indian local media reported on Wednesday (5th) that Meta (META-US) CEO Mark Zuckerberg has apologized to the Indian government regarding the presence of child sexual abuse content, deepfake content, and operational oversights on its platforms.

According to Indian financial media Moneycontrol, citing sources, Zuckerberg's apology was conveyed during a meeting between senior Meta executives and Indian government officials on Tuesday. Meta's primary social platforms include Facebook and Instagram. The company has not yet responded to requests for comment, so these claims remain unconfirmed by Meta.

In July, the Indian government requested that Meta remove advertisements and posts on Instagram promoting child sexual abuse content. At the time, the BBC cited a senior official from India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, stating that the government also demanded Meta provide an explanation within seven days detailing how such content was allowed on the platform.

Meta stated at the time that it maintains a zero-tolerance policy toward child sexual abuse material and continues to enhance its detection systems. Nevertheless, this incident has sparked external质疑 regarding potential vulnerabilities in Meta's content moderation and ad review processes.

Additionally, last month, India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology summoned senior Meta executives after Facebook temporarily restricted a post published by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Meta explained that the post was accidentally blocked due to an operational error.

Hyderabad police in India have also filed a case against Arun Srinivas, Meta's India head, concerning videos on Facebook allegedly depicting Modi in an insulting manner. These incidents place Meta under simultaneous pressure regarding child safety, deepfakes, political content handling, and overall platform management.

India has further tightened online content regulations this year, reducing the liability protections previously granted to social platforms for user-generated content and increasing the legal risks for platform executives. Since February, if courts or the government flag content as illegal, platforms must remove it within three hours—significantly shorter than the previous 36-hour window—or risk losing their legal immunity.