Science & TechTech policy
IT ministry tells Meta to stop its feeds pushing 'a single or limited set of narratives'
An advisory to the owner of Facebook and Instagram, issued as protests over the electoral roll revision continue in Delhi, asks it to rework recommendations and add context to images of public events. Digital rights campaigners call it censorship.
Key points
- MeitY's advisory, dated 10 October, asks Meta to review how its systems recommend and rank content.
- Meta has been told to act with immediate effect and report back to the ministry.
- Apar Gupta of the Internet Freedom Foundation called it a continuing censorship directive.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has told Meta to make sure the recommendation systems on Facebook and Instagram do not lead to “disproportionate exposure of users to a single or limited set of narratives”, in an advisory issued while protests over the revision of electoral rolls continue in the capital.
The advisory, dated 10 October and seen by reporters on Sunday, asks the company to offer users diverse and credible information, and to add context to photographs, videos and graphics of ongoing public events where their authenticity, date, place or circumstances may be unclear. It does not name a specific incident.
What the ministry wants
The ministry said certain content about public events was being “prominently displayed and recommended to users”, and warned that it could “contribute to public confusion, apprehension and disturbance of public order and social tranquillity”.
It set out six asks. Meta must review its recommendation and ranking systems so that misleading, manipulated or out-of-context material is not “disproportionately amplified or repeatedly recommended to users”. It must speed up how it identifies, reviews and escalates widely shared posts that could cause confusion or disorder, and cooperate promptly with law enforcement within the timelines of the IT Rules, 2021. The ministry singled out old or selectively edited visuals passed off as current, and unverified claims about emergencies, restrictions or police action.
The company has been asked to act “with immediate effect” and to report back on the steps it takes. The advisory cites the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the IT Rules, and says it is meant to support responsible information sharing while respecting lawful expression.
Officials in the ministry, speaking without being named, said agency reports suggested that Meta’s platforms were not treating all narratives equally and that its algorithms appeared to favour one kind of content.
The backdrop
The advisory was sent as the Cockroach Janta Party and opposition parties keep up protests in Delhi demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar over the Special Intensive Revision of electoral rolls.
‘A censorship directive’
Apar Gupta, founder director of the Internet Freedom Foundation, said the advisory, though not legally binding, amounted to a “continuing censorship directive”. He urged the ministry to withdraw it and called on Meta to disclose publicly every takedown and downranking it carries out in response.
Gupta also argued that phrases such as content “without adequate context” are not tied to any provision of the IT Act or the IT Rules, leaving the company to guess where the line lies.
Meta has not said publicly how it will respond. The advisory adds to a long list of demands the ministry has made of the company this year on deepfakes, child safety and how its feeds choose what users see.