Meta on Sunday, 5 July issued a firm statement asserting its zero tolerance policy against the solicitation or sharing of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including through advertisements on its platforms, as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) moved to summon the company's officials over reports of ads allegedly promoting child sexual abuse appearing on Instagram.

What Meta Said

In an official statement, a Meta spokesperson said the company deploys advanced artificial intelligence (AI) technology to proactively detect and remove violating content and individuals. The spokesperson acknowledged the scale of the challenge, noting that criminals actively attempt to hide among the platform's 3.5 billion users to evade detection systems.

'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,' the spokesperson said.

The spokesperson further stated that Meta's expert teams are continuously improving the company's defences, developing new technologies to identify predators, blocking links to websites hosting abusive content, and sharing intelligence with other technology companies to enable coordinated action.

Government Action: MeitY Steps In

Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw directed MeitY to summon Meta officials after reports emerged of advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual abuse appearing on Instagram. According to sources, the ministry is expected to seek a formal explanation from the US-based technology company on how such advertisements were able to appear on the platform and what safeguards exist to prevent the circulation of such content.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, is also reportedly likely to be asked to explain its advertisement review processes, content moderation systems, and the specific measures adopted to detect, remove, and prevent child sexual abuse-related content across its platforms.

Enforcement and Accountability Under Scrutiny

The ministry is expected to seek granular details on Meta's enforcement mechanisms and the concrete steps being taken to further strengthen protections against illegal and harmful content, according to sources. This marks a significant escalation in regulatory pressure on the company in India, one of its largest user markets globally.

Notably, this development follows the government's recent directive asking WhatsApp to defer the rollout of its username feature in India pending consultations. In response, the messaging platform clarified that usernames would be optional and said multiple safeguards have been built into the feature to prevent impersonation, scams, and unwanted contact ahead of its wider rollout later this year. The back-to-back regulatory interventions signal a sharper posture by the Indian government toward Meta's suite of platforms.

Broader Context

The scrutiny of Meta over CSAM-related advertisements on Instagram is part of a wider global conversation about the responsibilities of large social media platforms in policing harmful content. Regulators across jurisdictions — including the European Union and the United States — have increasingly demanded that platforms demonstrate proactive, verifiable measures rather than reactive content removal. For India, with its vast and growing digital user base, the stakes of platform accountability are particularly high.

How MeitY proceeds following its meeting with Meta officials will be closely watched by the broader technology industry operating in the country.