MeitY Advisory to Meta: Recommendation Systems, Narrative Diversity and Platform Duties
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) sent an advisory (a written set of instructions that is not a new law) to Meta, the company that owns Facebook and Instagram. The advisory is dated 10 October 2026.
It asks Meta to make sure its recommendation systems (the software that decides which posts to show each user) do not cause "disproportionate exposure of users to a single or limited set of narratives", and to show users a fair variety of credible information.
It lists six asks. These include adding context to photos and videos of ongoing public events when the date, place or situation is unclear, and reviewing ranking systems so that misleading, edited or out-of-context content is not pushed again and again.
Meta must also quickly find, review and escalate content that could cause public disorder or violence, and cooperate with police and government agencies within the timelines in the IT Rules, 2021. It must act "with immediate effect" and report back to the ministry.
The advisory cites the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the IT Rules, 2021, and reminds Meta of its "due diligence" duties as an intermediary. It does not name any specific incident.
Digital rights groups say an advisory is not legally binding and may push platforms to quietly remove or down-rank lawful posts. The ministry says the aim is responsible sharing of information while respecting lawful expression.
Algorithmic Amplification: How Recommendation Systems Shape What We See
When you open Instagram, YouTube or Facebook, you do not see posts in the order they were made. A computer program picks and ranks posts for you, based on what it predicts you will watch, like or share. This program is called a recommendation system. When it pushes some content to far more people than it would otherwise reach, we call it algorithmic amplification.
MeitY's advisory to Meta is a direct attempt to address algorithmic amplification. It asks Meta to stop its recommendation systems from overexposing users to one narrative and from repeatedly pushing misleading or out-of-context content. The debate around it shows the core tension: preventing viral harm on one side, and protecting lawful speech from quiet down-ranking on the other.
Section 79 of the IT Act, 2000: Safe Harbour for Intermediaries
Section 79 of the Information Technology Act, 2000 protects online platforms (intermediaries) from being punished for content posted by their users. This protection is called "safe harbour". A platform keeps it only if it acts like a neutral carrier, does not start or edit the content itself, and follows the due diligence rules set by the government. If it fails, it can be treated as responsible for unlawful user content.
The advisory reminds Meta of its due diligence duties as an intermediary under the IT Rules, 2021. These duties are the price of safe harbour, which is why government advisories carry practical weight even when they are not laws themselves.
Freedom of Speech and Expression: Article 19(1)(a)
Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution gives every citizen the right to freedom of speech and expression, in any medium, including the internet. This right is not unlimited. Article 19(2) allows the State to make laws placing "reasonable restrictions" on it, but only on specific grounds. Courts check whether any restriction fits these grounds and is not excessive.
The advisory justifies its asks mainly on the ground of public order and preventing violence. Critics argue that asking platforms to manage "narratives" goes beyond what Article 19(2) allows, because a restriction on speech should be based on a law and on the listed grounds.
- Advisory issued by MeitY to Meta, dated 10 October 2026; reported on 18 October 2026
- Six specific asks, to be acted on "with immediate effect", with a report back to the ministry
- Legal basis cited: IT Act, 2000 and IT Rules, 2021 (due diligence of intermediaries)
- SSMI threshold under IT Rules, 2021: 50 lakh registered users in India
- 2026 IT Rules amendment: 3-hour takedown window after a court order or authorised government notice; mandatory labelling of synthetic content
- Article 19(2): eight grounds for reasonable restrictions on free speech
- EU Digital Services Act Article 38: very large platforms must offer a feed not based on profiling