According to Meta India's CEO, India is a priority market for Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram

According to Meta's India chief Sandhya Devanathan, India is a "priority market" with "limitless" opportunities fueled by macroeconomic development, digital infrastructure, and the popularity of major programs such as Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram. 

Devanathan, who took over as CEO in January this year, told PTI that India's new Digital Personal Data security law has offered a framework and clarity for internet businesses and is a "great step in balancing user protection with innovation." Meta, she said, "welcomes constructive regulations" and would await the details.

Devanathan, the Vice President of Meta in India, also discussed the company's drive to combat disinformation on the platform and how it is utilizing AI (Artificial Intelligence) to prevent offensive material.

She stated that Meta will continue its electoral integrity efforts as India prepares for Lok Sabha elections next year.

India has one of Meta's largest user populations in the world, with 400 million Facebook members and counting.

She stated that the user growth trend is promising. Overall, the Indian market offers "limitless" opportunities, underpinned by solid macroeconomic fundamentals, Digital Public Infrastructure, and other reasons.

According to Devanathan, India is also one of the most involved markets in short-form video, both in terms of creation and consumption of 'Reels'. "Meta India is innovating for Meta globally," and there is also a lot of momentum among small firms that use Meta platforms and solutions.

According to her, a substantial proportion of firms in India use Meta's platforms to establish their initial internet presence and to discover and engage with clients.

In response to a question about Facebook losing appeal among adolescents and young adult users in key areas, indicating a clear shift in preferences, Devanathan stated that Facebook maintains traction and relevance among users of all ages.

Devanathan stated that she does not agree with the impression of Facebook's steady decline among younger viewers.

"India is a huge priority market for us." So, whether it's Facebook, Instagram, or WhatsApp, India has one of our greatest user populations. But, at the same time, India is where we test a lot of what we push out internationally. It has also been the site of many of our creative goods, and that investment will continue," she added.

She pointed out that India's aim of a $1 trillion (roughly Rs. 83,01,150 crore) digital economy by 2030 is a huge tailwind for prospects.

"And that number will imply that tech companies will benefit from the tailwinds of a growing economy." Similarly, in the not-too-distant future, there will be about a billion individuals using the internet, with 400 million of them likely to purchase online...also consider the video consumption figures...So there's a lot of potential not just for Meta, but for a lot of other firms," she explained.

Furthermore, advertising dollars as a proportion of GDP in India are among the lowest when compared to other markets. The US has a rate of roughly 1.9 percent, whereas India has a rate of less than 0.5 percent.

Meta sees India as a "huge priority market" for innovation, user engagement, and corporate growth.

According to Devanathan, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram cater to a diverse range of consumers.

"Facebook has a very active and thriving community." So, I would refute any myth...in terms of Facebook's numbers...we just revealed a few months ago that the daily activities on Facebook are rising, and have recently surpassed 2 billion, which is a big amount of daily activities that we recorded," she remarked.

People use Facebook to interact with their friends, family, and neighborhood, and the underlying attraction "hasn't changed."

"When you look at the 2 billion figure...it is consistent. "Facebook is a thriving platform all over the world," she remarked, emphasizing that the slow collapse of Facebook is not taking place.

Meta supports "constructive" measures under the new regulatory framework evolving in India, which includes the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act, Digital India legislation in the works, and current social media standards.

"What DPDP has done is provide a framework and clarity for tech companies to operate in." We are awaiting the formal rules. But I would say that this is a tremendous move toward balancing user safety and innovation...because that is what will propel India's techade, so we embrace constructive regulation and will see where we go from here," she added.

With its rising smartphone sales and dirt cheap data availability, India is one of the most important markets for social media giants like Meta, Google, and X (previously Twitter).

However, social media corporations have received criticism internationally and in India in recent years for concerns like as user damage and the spread of disinformation, hate speech, and false news on their platforms. There is also rising dissatisfaction among users who claim that digital platforms have been acting arbitrarily in taking down content or not responding quickly enough to issues, although people red-flagged it.

India has strengthened regulations for social media businesses, making them more accountable to users. Indeed, the government has repeatedly said that safety and trust are public policy objectives and missions, and that it would do all possible to ensure appropriate protections are in place for digital citizens navigating the internet and social media world.