Centre will summon Meta officials after a report alleged that Instagram carried advertisements linked to child sexual abuse material, prompting fresh concerns over content moderation
The Centre is set to summon officials from Meta after reports alleged that advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) were being displayed on Instagram in India, sources said on Friday.
Union Information Technology Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed officials at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to seek an explanation from the social media company over the reported advertisements.
The move comes after a BBC investigation claimed that Instagram had carried advertisements containing search terms linked to child sexual abuse. According to the report, the ads were approved through the platform’s moderation system before being displayed to users.
The investigation alleged that the advertisements featured terms such as “rape video” and “child video” and directed users to Telegram channels, where such illegal content was allegedly being sold for as little as ₹99.
The allegations have raised serious concerns over the effectiveness of content moderation systems on major social media platforms and the safeguards in place to prevent the spread of child sexual abuse material.
The government is expected to seek details from Meta on how the advertisements were approved, the steps taken to remove them, and the measures being implemented to prevent similar incidents in the future.
The development comes amid the Centre’s broader push to tighten accountability for digital platforms, with authorities increasingly scrutinising social media companies over user safety, harmful content and compliance with Indian laws.
Sharing, promoting or distributing child sexual abuse material is a serious criminal offence under Indian law, and platforms are required to act swiftly to remove such content and cooperate with law enforcement agencies.
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