MeitY reviews Meta Platforms’ reply over alleged Instagram child exploitation content

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has received Meta’s response to its notice regarding alleged advertisements and content promoting or facilitating child sexual exploitation and abuse material (CSEAM) on Instagram. The ministry is currently examining the company’s submission, according to a government official cited by Hindustan Times.

“We have received Meta’s response and are reviewing it,” the official said.

The notice was issued by MeitY on July 4 following directions from Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, asking Meta to immediately remove advertisements and content allegedly linked to child sexual abuse material on Instagram. The action followed a BBC Eye investigation that claimed it had identified around 30 unique advertisements on the platform allegedly promoting such illegal content.

Along with directing Meta to take immediate corrective action, the ministry had asked the company to provide an explanation within seven days on how such advertisements were allowed to appear on Instagram. The deadline for submitting the response was July 11.

Before submitting its formal reply to MeitY, Meta published a blog post on July 7 rejecting allegations that it knowingly targeted users with advertisements related to child sexual exploitation material in India.

The social media company said it removed more than four million suspicious accounts from Facebook and Instagram globally during the previous year, along with taking down 36 million pieces of content related to child exploitation. Meta also stated that its artificial intelligence-based detection systems helped remove around 160,000 accounts in India over the past six months.

“It is categorically inaccurate to suggest that we’d knowingly and deliberately target ads featuring children to people based on an inappropriate interest in children,” the company said. “Quite the opposite; we use technology to identify accounts that have shown potentially suspicious activity related to children, and we automatically removed over 4 million of these accounts last year.”

However, a MeitY official had clarified that Meta’s blog post did not constitute the detailed explanation sought by the government and that the company was still required to provide a formal response by July 11.

The BBC investigation had alleged that Instagram advertisements featuring terms such as “rape video” and “child video” redirected users to Telegram channels that were reportedly involved in selling child sexual abuse material. Following the findings, Meta said it removed several advertisements, disabled multiple accounts and blocked URLs associated with violating content.

Meta has maintained that its internal enforcement systems had already detected and acted against several violating advertisements and accounts before the BBC investigation was brought to its attention. The company said its follow-up review resulted in additional removals of advertisements, account suspensions and blocking of links connected to policy violations.

The company also acknowledged that preventing abuse on online platforms remains a significant challenge. Meta said that while it continues to improve its safety systems, “no system is perfect” and criminals continue attempting to misuse digital platforms, including advertising tools.

The MeitY review of Meta’s response will determine whether further regulatory action or additional compliance measures are required to address concerns over illegal content on social media platforms.