Key Points
- Meta says it removed 160,000 India-linked suspicious accounts using AI-based detection in six months
- Government has sought Meta’s explanation after Instagram ads allegedly promoted child exploitation content
- Meta says over 96% of child exploitation content is detected before user reports
Meta has outlined a series of measures it says are being used to combat child sexual exploitation across Facebook and Instagram, days after the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) sought an explanation over reports that paid advertisements on Instagram promoted child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in India.
In a blog post published on Tuesday (July 7), the social media giant reiterated its “zero tolerance” policy towards child exploitation and acknowledged that advertisements violating its policies had appeared on Instagram in India. It said some of the advertisements and associated accounts had already been detected and disabled by its enforcement systems before the issue was highlighted publicly, while a subsequent investigation led to the removal of additional advertisements, accounts and URLs linked to policy-violating content.
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The response comes after the Centre directed Meta to immediately remove advertisements and content promoting or facilitating access to child sexual exploitative and abuse material (CSEAM), and asked the company to explain within seven days how such advertisements were allowed to appear on the platform.
The government action followed media reports, including a BBC Eye investigation, that identified paid Instagram advertisements linking users to child sexual abuse material.
Meta rejected suggestions that its advertising systems deliberately targeted inappropriate content at users.
“It is categorically inaccurate to suggest that we’d knowingly and deliberately target ads featuring children to people based on an inappropriate interest in children,” the company said, adding that it uses automated systems to identify suspicious behaviour related to children.
According to the company, it automatically removed more than four million suspicious accounts globally last year in addition to taking down 36 million pieces of content related to child exploitation. Between October and December 2025 alone, Meta said it removed 13 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content, with more than 96% detected proactively before users reported them.
The company also disclosed India-specific enforcement figures, stating that its AI-based detection systems removed 160,000 accounts in India during the past six months after identifying suspicious off-platform links and other signals associated with child exploitation.
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Meta says advertisements undergo automated and manual review
Meta said advertisements undergo automated and manual review before publication and remain subject to continuous monitoring after they go live. Besides examining individual advertisements, the company said it also reviews advertiser behaviour and may suspend business accounts, advertising accounts, pages or associated user accounts found to violate its advertising or community standards.
The company said it has expanded the use of artificial intelligence for content moderation, with newer AI systems now supporting languages spoken by around 98% of internet users, compared with about 80 languages previously.
Meta also highlighted its cooperation with law enforcement agencies. The company said suspected child exploitation cases are reported through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and, in India, subsequently shared with the national cybercrime reporting portal in accordance with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and related rules.
Beyond its own platforms, Meta said it continues to participate in industry initiatives aimed at combating online child exploitation, including the Lantern programme under the Tech Coalition, which enables participating technology companies to share signals about suspected predatory accounts and behaviour.
According to the company, more than 2 million intelligence signals had been shared through Lantern by the end of 2025, supporting over 350,000 enforcement actions across participating platforms.
The company also said it blocks links to third-party websites hosting exploitative material and supports initiatives such as Take It Down, a tool developed with NCMEC to help prevent the spread of intimate images involving minors.
The latest statement comes amid heightened regulatory scrutiny in India over online safety and content moderation. Government officials have indicated that social media intermediaries are expected to strengthen safeguards against illegal content while complying with obligations under the Information Technology Rules and child protection laws.