Meta Can No Longer Be Treated As Mere Intermediary, Must Act As ‘Service Provider’: Govt Sources

 New Delhi: The owner of Instagram and Facebook, Meta can no longer be treated simply as an intermediary, and rather has to be treated as a ‘service provider’. Though Meta clearly admitted mistake and pledged to report child abuse content to Indian law enforcement agencies, the social media giant will have to take greater responsibility for the content distributed through its various platforms, the government sources privy to development said on Wednesday.

The development comes amid the government’s scrutiny of Meta following allegations around the promotion and circulation of child sexual abuse material on its platforms. “Meta has acknowledged that they have made mistakes and indicated that it would report child abuse material to the authorities. The government’s position is that Meta’s role has evolved beyond merely hosting or transmitting content posted by users,” the sources said.

As per the sources, the government believes that Meta does not have legal immunity in this situation, although the interpretation of law and the final determination rest with the judiciary. To a specific question on whether Meta loses its legal immunity in such a case, the sources also maintained that it is up to the court to decide. Ultimately, the interpretation of law is the domain of the judiciary,” the sources said.

Emphasising that every service provider has certain responsibilities, the sources further said that Meta's move now to take responsibility for content on its platform marks a significant shift in its stance in the social media space. “Service providers have many responsibilities. Once Meta has agreed to be responsible for what they have on the platform, then as the next steps, they have to start taking many more responsibilities,” the sources said.

The government is also looking at how other jurisdictions are approaching the responsibilities of large technology platforms. The sources, however, pointed to Meta’s commitments in the US to remove certain categories of harmful or addictive material, including content that could lead to suicide, as an indication of the responsibilities that could be imposed on large platforms.

Meta on Tuesday has also agreed to report child safety-related matters directly to the cybercrime portal managed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), as the government pushes social media platforms for stronger safeguards and greater accountability amid a crackdown on child sexual abuse material and other harmful content online.