Centre Summons Meta Over Instagram Ads
The Centre has directed officials to summon Meta over reports that paid Instagram advertisements allegedly promoted child sexual abuse material in India, raising serious concerns over platform safety and content moderation.
Centre Summons Meta Over Instagram Ads
Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to seek a formal explanation from Meta over the reported appearance of such advertisements on Instagram.
The action follows concerns that paid promotional content linked to child sexual abuse material was allowed to appear on the platform. The government is expected to question Meta on how the ads cleared its review systems and what corrective steps were taken after the issue was flagged.
Instagram Child Safety Concerns
The matter has renewed scrutiny of Meta’s content moderation and advertising approval systems in India. Reports have alleged that some advertisements used coded or harmful references and directed users towards external platforms or content linked to child exploitation.
Meta has said child exploitation is a serious crime and that it uses artificial intelligence, human reviewers and reporting systems to detect and remove such content. However, the company has also acknowledged that offenders often try to evade detection on large digital platforms.
MeitY Seeks Meta Explanation
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology is expected to ask Meta for details on the number of such ads detected, accounts suspended, payments received and safeguards in place to prevent similar violations.
The issue is particularly serious because the allegations involve paid advertising, not only user-generated content. This raises questions over whether digital platforms are doing enough to screen advertisements before they are approved.
The government’s move signals a tougher regulatory approach towards social media platforms when child safety, illegal content and online harm are involved.
