Meta not merely an 'intermediary', but a 'service provider' too

The company, a senior government official said, will have to assume greater responsibility for content shared by users and distributed across its platforms, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads

Social media major Meta’s platforms in India can no longer be classified merely as an ‘internet intermediary’ and must be treated as a ‘service provider’ too as the company charges money for algorithms that actively determine the amplification, distribution, and visibility of content, government sources said. 

The company, a senior government official said, will therefore have to assume greater responsibility for content shared by users and distributed across its platforms, Facebook, Instagram, and Threads. 

If Meta’s reclassification as a ‘service provider’ and not just an ‘internet intermediary’ is carried out, the Safe Harbour protection granted to it under Section 79 of the IT Act may come under the lens. 

“Meta’s role has evolved beyond merely hosting or transmitting the content that users share. The algorithms on its platforms now determine what kind of content is shown to users across different categories based on age, location, gender, and various other factors, and money is charged for promoting such content,” the official said. 

An email sent to Meta seeking its response did not elicit a response. 

The government is of the considered view that Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and Threads, “does not have any legal immunity” in this case and therefore can be prosecuted for any crimes arising from content shared on these platforms, a second official said. 

However, the final decision on whether the company is liable will rest with the judiciary, another official said. 

“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 official said. 

The platform has been informed of the government’s stance on the issue, an official said, adding that a final decision would be taken soon. 

“We have informed them (Meta) about this, and there will be more action that will follow,” one of the officials quoted above said.

The increased scrutiny of Meta comes as the government pushes for greater accountability and stronger guardrails around content shared on social media platforms. 

In its bid to make the internet and social media a safer space for women and children, the government has also adopted a tough stance on the proliferation of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), as well as the spread of addictive content and photos, videos, or games that promote suicidal thoughts among children. 

Earlier on Wednesday, Meta India head Arun Srinivas was once again summoned by the National Council for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to appear in person and explain the company’s policy stance on preventing CSAM. 

The NCPCR summons, issued for the second time, came a day after the platform agreed to report all cases of child sexual abuse and details of repeat offenders to law enforcement agencies in India. 

Confirming the development, a Meta spokesperson said on Tuesday that it would share the details directly with the cybercrime division of the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre of the Ministry of Home Affairs. 

Until now, all US-headquartered social media platforms, including Meta, shared instances of CSAM only with the National Centre for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), a private US non-profit organisation. NCMEC would then share details of repeat offenders or similar online accounts with law enforcement agencies in their respective jurisdictions. 

Though Meta is the first company to agree to share such details directly with the Indian government, sources said other social media and internet intermediaries will also have to follow suit and report instances of CSAM, along with offender details, to social media intermediaries. 

Apart from the NCPCR summons for Meta executives, the platform has remained in the government’s crosshairs since July this year after a video of Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing students protesting the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test question paper leak was inadvertently taken down from Facebook for more than five hours. 

Following the takedown, and after earlier reports that Meta’s Instagram allegedly allowed advertisements promoting CSAM, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, led by Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, summoned Meta’s Chief of Global Affairs, Joel Kaplan, to appear in person and explain the lapses. 

Kaplan, who took over the role in January 2025, flew to Delhi in August this year and met Vaishnaw and other senior officials from the IT Ministry, where he assured them that the platform would take more proactive steps to curb the proliferation of CSAM across its platforms.

 

Closer scrutiny 

No ‘legal immunity’: 

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and Threads, can be prosecuted for crimes arising from content on these platforms

Greater responsibility: 

Meta may face more liability for content amplified by its algorithms

Courts have the final say: The judiciary will decide whether Meta is legally liable

Direct CSAM reporting: 

Meta will share ‘child sexual abuse material’ cases directly with Indian authorities