Centre to take strong action against Instagram for promoting child sexual abuse material, will seek report from Meta 

NEW DELHI: The Central government has decided to take strict action after a BBC investigation alleged that Instagram was displaying advertisements in India that promoted child sexual abuse material. Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed officials to summon representatives of Meta, Instagram's parent company, and seek an explanation. The company will be asked to explain how such advertisements appeared on the platform.

The BBC investigation also found that links attached to the Instagram advertisements directed users to channels on the messaging platform Telegram, where sexually explicit videos were allegedly being sold. According to the report, Instagram had initially told the BBC that the advertisements did not violate its policies despite concerns being raised. Meta later said it had removed the advertisements and disabled the accounts responsible for posting them. The company added that detecting every policy violation on the platform remains a challenge.

Telegram told the BBC that it had removed more than 274,000 groups and channels containing child sexual abuse material so far this year. However, the report said some such channels continue to remain active.

Attracts users through ads

1. According to the BBC report, Instagram displayed advertisements promoting video calls and sexually explicit videos. The report said it identified 30 advertisements promoting child sexual abuse involving 12-year-old children and 20 advertisements containing adult pornographic content.
2. The advertisements reportedly used attention-grabbing terms such as "rape video" and "child video." After displaying a short preview clip, users were encouraged to click a link that redirected them to Telegram channels, where the videos were allegedly sold for prices starting at Rs 99.
3. Advertising remains Meta's primary source of revenue. According to the report, nearly 98% of Meta's projected $200 billion revenue in 2025 came from advertising, while around 90% of Instagram's revenue is generated through advertisements.

Criminal offence in India

The circulation or promotion of child sexual abuse material, as well as the online distribution of pornographic content involving adults through social media platforms, is a criminal offence under Indian law.