iWorld
Govt to make social media accountable
MUMBAI: In a bid to ensure that social media is free from harmful content the government is looking at shifting the accountability from users to platforms such as WhatsApp, Facebook and Telegram.
According to the reports, Telecom secretary Aruna Sundararajan said, “The committee which I’m part of is primarily looking into a few key aspects, including shift of accountability from a user to a social platform, as users are sometimes unaware and innocently retweet or forward content, so much higher standards of accountability for platforms are needed.”
Every major platform that has a significant presence in India must be accountable to Indian authorities. “There must be a full-fledged management team present in the country accountable to Indian laws,” she said. “It should not be, as such, one compliance officer is here only.”
The government is preparing to repeat its demand that WhatsApp put in place a technical solution to trace the origins of incendiary messages spread on its platform, something the Facebook-owned platform has resisted, maintaining that it goes against its privacy policy.
The centre has been dissatisfied with the steps taken by WhatsApp to restrain fake news. The Ministry of Electronics and IT (MeitY) is drafting a letter—its third since July to the platform—asking it to design a technology-led solution to the viral messages that in the past have led to lynching and riots.
In a report, experts said that any decision that makes a company such as Whatsapp responsible for the content on its platform, will force the messaging app to devise ways to ensure it is not misused instead of merely passing on the blame to the user, who will be difficult to trace given the encryption.
Sundararajan said, “There are algorithms and artificial intelligence (AI), which these platforms already use, that can also be deployed to curb such content. While regulation of social media apps rests with MeitY, the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) ensures security of the content being transmitted through the network.”
She added that DoT can make lawful interceptions in the interests of public safety but does not propose to block social apps. It’s up to the companies to have adequate precautionary measures.
The government had earlier raised its concerns after which WhatsApp limited forwards to five users or groups, when it used to be 250, while identifying forwarded messages, and a publicity campaign against fake news.
The government has also told WhatsApp that it won’t be allowed to set up a payment service until it establishes an office and recruits a team in India.
Sundararajan said the government wants Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and others to treat Indian consumers on par with those overseas while it looks to bring in higher standards of accountability. “Is the Indian citizen any less than an American citizen? No. Whatever safeguards and best practices you (companies) are providing globally, nothing less than should be available for India. This is the principle we are trying to establish,” Sundararajan said. “Like companies should treat India as most-favoured nation in trade and Indian consumers should also be treated likewise.”
iWorld
Meta plans 8,000 layoffs in new AI-led restructuring wave
First phase from May 20 may cut 10 per cent workforce amid AI pivot.
MUMBAI: At Meta, the future may be artificial but the cuts are very real. The social media giant is reportedly preparing a fresh round of layoffs, with an initial wave expected to impact around 8,000 employees as it doubles down on its artificial intelligence ambitions. According to a Reuters report, the first phase of job cuts is slated to begin on May 20, targeting roughly 10 per cent of Meta’s global workforce. With nearly 79,000 employees on its rolls as of December 31, the move marks one of the company’s most significant workforce reductions in recent years.
And this may only be the beginning. Sources indicate that additional layoffs are being planned for the second half of the year, although the scale and timing remain fluid, likely to be shaped by how Meta’s AI capabilities evolve in the coming months. Earlier reports had suggested that total cuts in 2026 could reach 20 per cent or more of its workforce.
The restructuring comes as chief executive Mark Zuckerberg continues to steer the company towards an AI-first operating model, committing hundreds of billions of dollars to the transition. Internally, this shift is already visible: teams within Reality Labs have been reorganised, engineers have been moved into a newly formed Applied AI unit, and a Meta Small Business division has been created to align with broader structural changes.
The trend is hardly isolated. Across the tech sector, companies are trimming headcount while investing aggressively in automation. Amazon, for instance, has reportedly cut around 30,000 corporate roles nearly 10 per cent of its white-collar workforce citing efficiency gains driven by AI. Data from Layoffs.fyi shows over 73,000 tech employees have already lost jobs this year, compared with 153,000 in all of 2024.
For Meta, the move echoes its earlier “year of efficiency” in 2022–23, when about 21,000 roles were eliminated amid slowing growth and market pressures. This time, however, the backdrop is different. The company is financially stronger, generating over $200 billion in revenue and $60 billion in profit last year, with shares up 3.68 per cent year-to-date though still below last summer’s peak.
That contrast underlines the shift underway. These layoffs are less about survival and more about reinvention. As Meta restructures itself around AI from autonomous coding agents to advanced machine learning systems, the question is no longer whether the company will change, but how many roles will be left unchanged when it does.
