Centre seeks explanation from Meta over Instagram ads linked to child sexual abuse material

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed officials in the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to summon executives of Meta and seek an explanation after reports that paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) were running on Meta-owned Instagram, sources said.The ministry is expected to seek an immediate clarification from the company over how such advertisements were approved and allowed to run on the platform.The move follows a BBC Eye investigation published on July 3, which found that Instagram had been running paid advertisements in India promoting child sexual abuse material, raising serious questions over the platform’s advertising review and content moderation systems.According to the investigation, the advertisements contained explicit search terms such as “rape video” and “child video” and redirected users to channels on Telegram, where the illegal content was allegedly being offered for as little as Rs 99.The report further said the advertisements had been approved by Instagram’s automated moderation systems, which are designed to review paid content before it is published. In one instance cited by the BBC, Instagram reportedly responded to a user report within 24 hours stating that the advertisement did not violate its community guidelines.Also read: 'WhatsApp usernames can facilitate cybercrime': MeitY asks Meta to justify featureSources said MeitY will seek details from Meta on the circumstances under which the advertisements were approved, the safeguards currently in place to detect and prevent such content, and the corrective measures being taken to ensure similar incidents do not recur.The development comes a day after the Centre sent notices to Meta-owned WhatsApp, as well as Telegram and Signal, seeking details on their username features and the measures adopted to prevent fraud, impersonation and misuse of their platforms.Officials are also expected to examine the safeguards proposed by WhatsApp, including restrictions on username formats, verification checks and reporting mechanisms, the source added.The latest action signals heightened government scrutiny of digital platforms over user safety, content moderation and compliance with India’s information technology regulations.