India Reviews Meta Response Over Instagram Child Abuse Ads

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is reviewing a formal response from Meta Platforms regarding advertisements on Instagram that allegedly promoted child sexual exploitation and abuse material. The probe began after a BBC Eye investigation identified approximately 30 unique advertisements using terms like "rape video" and "child video" to direct users to Telegram channels selling illegal content.

Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw issued a directive on July 4 ordering the immediate removal of the content and demanding a detailed explanation by July 11. The minister noted that publishing such material is a punishable offense under Section 67 (B) of the IT Act. IT Secretary S. Krishnan confirmed on July 14 that the government received Meta's reply the previous Saturday and is currently examining the document.

Meta denied knowingly targeting users with such advertisements, stating that its AI detection tools removed 160,000 accounts in India over the last six months. While the company admitted that "no system is perfect," it maintained that many violations were disabled before the BBC report was published. The ministry has stated that appropriate action will be taken once the review of the response is complete.