Govt issues notice to Meta over child sexual exploitative material in Instagram ads

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has directed officials to summon Meta representatives to seek a formal explanation regarding paid advertisements on Instagram that promoted Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM), as per sources.

In the notice issued on Saturday evening, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) ordered Instagram to disable all the ads and content promoting and facilitating access to CSEAM.

The government has also demanded a detailed explanation within seven days, the sources added.


This comes in the wake of a media report had claimed that Instagram hosted paid advertisements with disturbing keywords with links to other social media channels where they can be purchased.

Earlier, according to sources, the ministry had taken cognizance of reports that Instagram showcased certain objectionable material that promoted child sexual abuse and issued directions to officials to seek a response from Meta.

IT officials are demanding answers on how these deeply disturbing advertisements successfully bypassed Meta's pre-publication review and moderation pipeline. The government is reviewing whether the platform has complied with India's intermediary safety guidelines.

Distribution of pornography and child sexual abuse material is a criminal offence in India under its digital laws.

In its In its response to the media report, Meta acknowledged that no moderation system is perfect but highlighted a "zero tolerance" policy towards CSAM. The company reported that upon being alerted, it disabled the offending advertisements, suspended the violating accounts, and blocked the associated URLs.

Under Section 67 (B) of the IT Act, it is a punishable offence to publish or transmit material depicting children in sexually explicit acts, etc. in electronic form.

Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) refers to material containing sexual images in any form of a child who is abused or sexually exploited, according to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal.

Content posted on these social media intermediaries is guided by their content policy and community guidelines, and users can report or flag material that they find inappropriate or violating their community guidelines.