Government to Question Meta Over Child Abuse Ads on Instagram
New Delhi: The Indian government plans to summon Meta after reports surfaced about paid advertisements on Instagram promoting child sexual abuse materials within the country. IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has instructed officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to request a formal explanation from Meta.
Officials stated that MeitY will want to know how Instagram’s review system allowed such disturbing ads to be published, whether any checks were conducted before the ads went live, and what steps Meta took once the issue was brought to their attention. The ministry is expected to seek clarity on the company’s ad-screening processes and what safeguards are in place to prevent this from happening again.
Reports from the BBC highlighted that these problematic ads were visible in India, using explicit terms that linked to Telegram channels where child sexual abuse materials were allegedly sold. These promotions reportedly originated from an India-based account and passed through Instagram’s moderation systems. Meta has since disabled several ads and accounts linked to this issue, emphasizing its “zero tolerance policy” against soliciting or sharing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including in advertisements.
A spokesperson for Meta stated that the company employs advanced AI technology to proactively identify violating content and users. However, they acknowledged the ongoing challenge of dealing with criminals who attempt to hide among its 3.5 billion users.
According to India’s IT regulations, intermediaries are obligated to take action against harmful content, particularly material that involves the sexual exploitation of children. Government sources noted that paid ads are supposed to undergo a pre-publication review, which raises questions about how such content was permitted. A government official mentioned, “The platform will need to clarify how such ads appeared despite its stated policies.”
This incident comes at a time when the Indian government is emphasizing the need for online platforms to be accountable for harmful content, especially that which targets children. Meta has stated that its teams are continually working to enhance their systems, develop better technology to identify online predators, block links to harmful sites, and collaborate with other companies to help combat child exploitation on the internet.
