A high-stakes regulatory clash has emerged between India’s federal government and tech giant Meta after an independent journalistic investigation uncovered paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material running across Instagram for users based in India. A senior official from India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology confirmed that authorities have issued a formal, stern notice to Meta, demanding the immediate removal of all ads and public content that enables access to or promotes child sexual exploitative material on the platform.
The regulatory action comes just days after the BBC’s investigative unit BBC Eye published findings from an undercover probe into content moderation gaps on Instagram. Reporters created a new anonymous Instagram account in India to test platform algorithms, after observing that sexually inappropriate content was being pushed to users even without active searches for such material. After the account followed just 10 accounts linked to explicit content, the platform began serving paid adult pornography ads to the alias within six days. Within a further short period, the account was also served paid promotions for child sexual abuse material, with several of these ads directing users to private Telegram channels where the illegal content was sold for profit.
Along with ordering the immediate takedown of all violating content, the Indian government has given Meta a seven-day deadline to provide a full formal explanation for how these illegal paid advertisements were able to evade the platform’s content moderation systems and reach users. Neither government officials nor Meta have publicly confirmed whether the regulatory notice was issued directly in response to the BBC’s published investigation, but the timing of the action follows the probe’s release closely.
In a public statement responding to the government notice and the underlying investigation, a Meta spokesperson reaffirmed that the company maintains a strict zero-tolerance policy for any content that promotes or shares child sexual abuse material, including commercial advertisements. The company noted that it leverages cutting-edge artificial intelligence systems to proactively identify and remove violating content and bad actors from its platforms, which serve more than 3.5 billion global users monthly. Meta’s representative framed the fight against child exploitation as an ongoing, constant battle, noting that bad actors continuously adapt their tactics to evade automated detection systems.
The company also pushed back on suggestions that it allows harmful content to remain on its platforms to generate advertising revenue, calling any claim that it knowingly serves child sexual abuse ads to users categorically inaccurate. Meta has repeatedly emphasized that it prioritizes user safety, particularly the protection of minors, over any potential commercial gains from problematic content.