India orders Meta to act on Instagram abuse ads

India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has formally ordered Meta to ensure that all advertisements and content on Instagram that promote or facilitate access to Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material are disabled. The directive comes in response to concerns that such material was being surfaced through paid promotions on the platform.

Under the notice, Meta must provide a detailed explanation within seven days. The government has requested information on the specific advertisements involved, how they were approved, and the measures being taken to prevent similar occurrences.

The notice explicitly cites alleged algorithmic amplification of sexually exploitative content as a serious concern. Authorities have warned that failure to take prompt corrective action or to adequately clarify the circumstances could trigger legal proceedings.

Potential enforcement has been linked to provisions of the Information Technology Act and the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012. This places Meta’s content moderation and advertising review processes under closer regulatory scrutiny in India.

The government action follows an investigation that identified roughly 30 distinct paid advertisements on Instagram allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material. These advertisements reportedly used explicit phrases and in some cases directed users to external channels where such material was said to be on sale.

The reported discovery of such promotions in paid advertising, rather than only in user-generated posts, has intensified questions around how Instagram’s ad approval and recommendation systems are configured and monitored.

Meta has stated that it removed several of the flagged advertisements after they were reported. The company has also disabled multiple accounts associated with the alleged violations and blocked URLs that were found to host or facilitate access to abusive material.

In its public stance, Meta reiterates that it operates a zero-tolerance policy toward child sexual abuse material. At the same time, it acknowledges that no moderation system is perfect, and that abusive content can still surface despite existing safeguards.

The combination of regulatory pressure, the seven-day deadline, and potential legal consequences underscores the stakes for Meta’s operations in India. The company’s forthcoming explanation and any additional enforcement measures by authorities are likely to shape the next phase of oversight of online advertising and harmful content on major platforms in the country.