Overview
- The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a Meta-specific advisory dated October 10 that asks the company to stop recommendation systems from giving disproportionate exposure to a single or limited set of narratives and to apprise the ministry of steps taken.
- MeitY set out six specific asks that include identifying and addressing prohibited material, reviewing ranking and recommendation mechanisms, adding context to photos and videos, ensuring narrative diversity, speeding escalation for high-reach items, and cooperating with authorised agencies under the IT Rules, 2021.
- The advisory was sent on the same day large protests took place in Delhi at Jantar Mantar when organisers and leaders were detained and temporary local internet restrictions were reported, linking the technical request to real‑time public‑order concerns.
- Digital rights groups led by the Internet Freedom Foundation criticised the guidance as a de facto censorship directive and demanded that MeitY withdraw the advisory and that Meta publish any takedowns or downranking done under it.
- The advisory invokes intermediaries’ due‑diligence duties under the IT Act and IT Rules but is not a formal regulation, it was not published publicly, and it raises open questions about how ‘disproportionate exposure’ and ‘credible’ narratives would be measured and overseen, so observers will watch for Meta’s response and for any operational transparency from the ministry.