Centre to summon Meta over child abuse ads on Instagram
What's the story
Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has asked officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to summon Meta. The move comes after a media report found paid advertisements on Instagram allegedly linking users to networks selling child sexual abuse material (CSAM) via Telegram. The ministry is expected to seek an immediate clarification from Meta regarding how such ads were approved and allowed on its platform.
Investigation findings
Investigation found sexually explicit content before paid ads
A BBC World Service investigation, published on July 3, revealed that Instagram's recommendation systems started showing sexually explicit content before serving paid ads with terms like "rape video" and "child video." The ads were found despite the platform's ad review process, which is meant to approve advertisements before publication. When the BBC flagged one such ad, Instagram took 24 hours to respond and claimed the content didn't violate its community guidelines.
Algorithm exposure
Test account shown ads linking to Telegram channels
The BBC created a test account in India after noticing that Instagram was recommending sexually suggestive content. Within days, the account was shown ads with explicit sexual content and later, ads featuring children in sexually suggestive situations linking to Telegram channels. The investigation found around 30 unique ads promoting child sexual abuse material, some appearing across multiple accounts.
Meta's response
Meta suspended accounts responsible for posting ads
In response to the BBC's investigation, Meta said it had disabled several ads and suspended accounts responsible for posting them. The company also said it had removed more ads, blocked URLs, and taken action against more accounts that violated its policies. "Child exploitation is a horrific crime, and Meta works aggressively to fight it on our apps," the company told the BBC.
Denial of intent
'No system is perfect,' admits Meta
Meta also denied the allegation that it knowingly targeted such ads to users with an interest in child abuse material. The company admitted that "no system is perfect, and our review process may not detect all policy violations." It added that it continues to use detection technology on ads after they go live and reports apparent child exploitation cases to the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), as required by law.
Telegram's response
Telegram claimed it removed over 274,000 groups, channels in 2026
Responding to the BBC's investigation, Telegram said it uses automated tools and human moderation to remove child sexual abuse material. The company claimed it had removed over 274,000 groups and channels linked to such content in 2026. The company said it had "virtually eliminated the public spread of CSAM from its platform."