The Centre has issued a stern notice to Meta, directing the company to immediately disable all Instagram advertisements and content that allegedly promote or facilitate access to child sexual exploitative and abuse material (CSEAM), escalating its action days after deciding to summon the social media giant over the issue.
The notice, issued by the ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) on Saturday, also gives Meta seven days to submit a detailed explanation on how such advertisements were allowed to appear on the platform, a government official said.
Govt demands ‘immediate corrective measures’
“Paid ads on Insta allegedly used to direct users to external platforms for unlawful child abuse material,” said a government official.
“The government views the ‘algorithmic amplification’ of sexually exploitative content with utmost seriousness, demands immediate corrective measures,” the official added.
The latest action follows directions from MeitY minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, after the government on Friday said it would summon Meta to seek an explanation over the issue.
The case against Meta
The move comes amid growing scrutiny of Meta’s content moderation systems after a BBC Eye investigation reported finding around 30 unique Instagram advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material.
According to the report, Instagram displayed advertisements containing phrases such as “rape video” and “child video” that directed users to Telegram channels allegedly selling child sexual abuse material. The report said Meta removed several advertisements, disabled multiple accounts and blocked violating URLs after the findings were flagged.
{{/usCountry}}According to the report, Instagram displayed advertisements containing phrases such as “rape video” and “child video” that directed users to Telegram channels allegedly selling child sexual abuse material. The report said Meta removed several advertisements, disabled multiple accounts and blocked violating URLs after the findings were flagged.
{{/usCountry}}The Mark Zuckerberg-led company, in a statement, had earlier said, ”Meta has a zero tolerance policy for soliciting or sharing CSAM, including in ads. We use advanced AI technology to proactively detect violating content and individuals, but we are in a constant battle with criminals who hide among our 3.5 billion users and try to evade our detection. That is why our expert teams are constantly working to improve our defenses, develop new technology to root out predators, block links to violating websites, and share intelligence with other companies so they can take action too.”
Meta did not immediately respond to HT’s questions regarding Saturday’s notice.
India’s National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had also taken suo motu cognisance of the matter on Friday and said it was closely monitoring the case.
Separately, the government has come down hard on WhatsApp, owned by Meta, over the rollout of its username feature which would allow users to message using usernames without having to use phone numbers. The government said the feature could increase the risks of impersonation, identity theft, phishing and digital fraud by allowing users to connect without revealing their phone numbers.