Meta India VP highlights AI’s role in ensuring user safety against misinformation

Meta India Vice President Sandhya Devanathan said the company uses AI to combat misinformation while stressing that it will continue promoting election integrity as India prepares for the Lok Sabha elections next year. Devanathan emphasized that AI plays a crucial role in removing harmful content, as AI technology removes approximately 85% of harmful content before human moderators even see it. In addition to combating misinformation, Devanathan stated that Meta has been actively involved in ensuring the smooth conduct of approximately 200 elections on its platform and aims to provide information on privacy settings and how to identify misinformation.

According to The Hindu, India is a significant market for social media giants like Meta, Google, and X. However, these companies are criticized for affecting users, disseminating false information, hate speech, fake news, as well as arbitrary material removal. Social media businesses now have more responsibility to users because of India’s stricter regulations. The government strongly emphasizes security and trust as public policy goals to provide adequate protection for digital citizens.

Why does it matter?

With a substantial 400 million Facebook user base in India, Meta’s efforts are crucial in maintaining a safe online environment. While AI can process large amounts of content and increase the accuracy of content moderation, there are many concerns regarding AI’s transparency, accuracy, and bias when filtering content. Additionally, there is a thin line between protecting freedom of expression and preventing the spread of misinformation and hate speech. Therefore, Meta in India should ensure an adequate balance when adopting such measures to ensure effective human rights protections.