The Government of India has taken a strict stance against social media giant Meta, directing it to immediately disable all advertisements and content promoting or facilitating access to Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) on Instagram.
The decisive action from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) follows a rigorous investigative report revealing that Instagram was running paid advertisements that bypassed moderation filters. These problematic ads allegedly contained explicit search terms and direct links to external encrypted networks like Telegram, where illegal material was being monetized.
Seven-Day Ultimatum Issued
Acting on direct instructions from IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, MeitY issued a stern notice to Meta over the weekend. Alongside the immediate takedown order, the Indian government has demanded a comprehensive, detailed explanation from Meta within seven days detailing how its automated ad-approval systems permitted such severe violations to go live.
Responding to the development, a Meta spokesperson stated that the company maintains a “zero-tolerance policy” regarding child exploitation. The tech giant emphasized that it deploys advanced AI systems to proactively flag rogue actors, but acknowledged it is locked in a constant battle with sophisticated bad actors trying to evade detection.
Under India’s IT Rules and the POCSO Act, intermediaries risk losing their legal “safe harbor” immunity if they fail to strictly moderate content. Government officials have indicated that further regulatory penalties or legal actions will be evaluated once Meta submits its formal response.
