The Indian government has told Meta that it can no longer rely on intermediary protection under the Information Technology Act and must accept greater accountability as a platform service provider, following the tech giant's admission of lapses in handling child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on its networks.
The notice, issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), signals a significant shift in how India's digital regulatory framework could treat social media giants. Safe harbour provisions, embedded in Section 79 of the IT Act, have historically shielded intermediaries from liability for third-party content, provided they adhere to certain due diligence requirements and promptly remove unlawful material upon receipt of a takedown order.
However, officials in Delhi have made it clear that repeated failures to detect, report, and remove CSAM amount to a breach of those conditions. The government is now exploring whether Meta can continue to claim intermediary status or should instead be classified as a service provider bearing fuller responsibility for the content hosted on WhatsApp, Instagram, and Facebook.
Meta had previously acknowledged gaps in its content moderation systems, particularly around detecting CSAM that uses encrypted messaging platforms like WhatsApp. The company has since invested heavily in AI-driven detection tools and photo-matching technology, but Indian authorities say the pace and scale of removals have remained inadequate.
Legal experts note that if safe harbour is stripped away, Meta could face direct liability for CSAM shared through its platforms, opening the door to civil suits and potentially criminal prosecution under India's stringent laws against child pornography. The amendments to the IT Rules in 2023 already require intermediaries to track the origin of messages on platforms with over 5 million users, a measure widely seen as targeting WhatsApp's encryption.
The government's stance comes at a time when India is also advancing the Digital Personal Data Protection Act and debating stronger penalties for online child exploitation. Senior officials have privately described Meta's current position as untenable under existing legal frameworks, with some suggesting that a regulatory order formally reclassifying the company's intermediary status could follow within months.
Meta has not yet publicly responded to the government's latest communication, though sources familiar with the matter say the company is engaging in discussions with MeitY and the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting to present evidence of improved compliance measures.
