Meta rejects claims of showing child-related ads to users with inappropriate interests

New Delhi: Meta has issued a detailed public response defending its child safety measures after facing intense scrutiny over reports that Instagram carried advertisements in India allegedly linked to child exploitation, saying it has already removed the violating ads and accounts while denying allegations that its advertising systems deliberately targeted such content. The company published the blog post on Tuesday, days after multiple media reports raised concerns over Instagram advertisements that allegedly promoted or linked to child sexual exploitation material (CSEM), triggering criticism and renewed questions over Meta's advertising review systems. The controversy also drew attention to whether Meta's ad-targeting tools could be exploited by bad actors despite the platform's automated moderation mechanisms. The latest blog appears aimed at addressing those concerns while outlining the company's existing enforcement measures. Action was already underway Meta said several of the violating advertisements and advertiser accounts had already been detected by its systems before they were highlighted publicly. "Before these cases were brought to our attention, our enforcement systems had already identified and disabled several of the violating ads and the accounts behind them," the company said. It added that a subsequent investigation led to "removing further ads, disabling accounts, and blocking URLs linked to policy-violating content." The company also strongly rejected suggestions that its advertising systems intentionally served such ads to users with inappropriate interests. "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," Meta said. Instead, it said its technology identifies accounts showing suspicious behaviour related to children, adding that "we automatically removed over 4 million of these accounts last year." How ad review works The blog also sought to explain Meta's advertising review process amid criticism that the ads had appeared despite existing safeguards. According to the company, every advertisement undergoes automated and manual review before publication, with continued monitoring even after it goes live. "Our ad review system automatically checks ads for policy violations before they run," Meta said, adding that advertisements remain subject to continuous review and can be removed at any stage if they violate company policies. The company said it not only reviews individual ads but also investigates advertiser behaviour and can restrict or permanently disable business accounts found violating its advertising standards or community policies. Zero tolerance policy Meta reiterated that it has "detailed and robust policies" prohibiting child sexual exploitation, abuse and nudity across Facebook and Instagram. It said its advertising standards require all advertisements to comply with the company's Community Standards, including those relating to child sexual exploitation and abuse. Highlights enforcement numbers Seeking to demonstrate the scale of its enforcement efforts, Meta disclosed several global and India-specific figures. Globally, the company said it removed more than 36 million pieces of child exploitation content last year while automatically disabling over 4 million suspicious accounts across Facebook and Instagram. In India alone, Meta said its AI-based detection systems removed 160,000 accounts during the last six months for posting suspicious off-platform links associated with child exploitation. The company also said that between October and December 2025, it removed 13 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content, with more than 96% detected proactively before being reported by users. Reports cases to authorities Meta said that whenever it identifies apparent child exploitation, it reports the material to the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which then shares relevant reports with Indian authorities in compliance with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and related rules. "Thanks to our continued investment in detection and reporting, we report more to law enforcement authorities than anyone else in the industry," the company said. The statement comes at a time when Meta is facing heightened scrutiny in India over the effectiveness of its content moderation and advertising systems after recent reports alleged that Instagram advertisements were being used to direct users towards child exploitation material.