IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to summon Meta executives over Instagram ads promoting child sexual abuse material, according to reports from Moneycontrol, The Times of India, and Business Standard. The directive represents a significant escalation in government action against social media platforms hosting inappropriate content. On Friday, senior executives from Meta met officials from the IT ministry after the ministry had sought an explanation on the username feature rollout of WhatsApp. As per an IT ministry official, "We have taken note of the reports that have alleged that there was inaction from Meta, despite being made aware of ads that contained CSAM, offensive and illegal search words. We have sought an explanation from them and asked them to appear in person." This marks the second time this week that the government has taken action against Meta, following a notice issued earlier this week over WhatsApp's planned username feature.
In response to the government's concerns, Meta has announced significant enhancements to its content review processes. The company stated it will strengthen its review process after reports of the company running ads displaying child sexual abuse media (CSAM) on its social media platform Instagram, according to a Bloomberg report. Meta stated that it will continue investing to keep young people safe and is committed to improving efforts to combat such material. The tech giant explained that it uses both automated and manual reviews to enforce its policies, stating "Beyond reviewing individual ads, we also monitor and investigate advertiser behavior, and may restrict advertiser accounts that don't follow our Advertising Standards, Community Standards or other Meta policies and terms." The company has also removed four million accounts with "potential suspicious activity" involving children in the previous year, as reported by Bloomberg. In its latest update, Meta revealed it automatically removed over four million suspicious accounts from Facebook and Instagram, as well as 36 million pieces of content containing child exploitation.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has ordered Instagram to disable all ads and content promoting and facilitating access to CSAM (Child Sexual Exploitation Material), as reported by Business Standard. The government has also demanded a detailed explanation within 7 days from Meta regarding the content violations. This represents a significant escalation from the initial government notice, with the ministry now taking direct action to remove the problematic content from the platform. The notice, issued on Saturday evening, directs the company to immediately remove such content and explain the lapse within seven days. The directive comes after a BBC investigation that found Instagram ads linked to Telegram channels selling child sexual abuse material in India, where the content reportedly links users to channels on the messaging app Telegram, where they can buy the content for as little as ₹99. MeitY officials told NDTV Profit that they have ordered Instagram to disable all content facilitating access to child sexual abuse material, with the government issuing a stern notice to Meta on child sexual abuse material in paid ads on Instagram.
On Wednesday, the Centre issued a notice to Meta over WhatsApp's planned username feature, citing concerns that it could significantly increase online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation attacks. During Friday's meeting, IT Ministry Secretary S Krishnan said that the username feature provided by WhatsApp and other peer-to-peer messaging platforms had "serious" possibilities of impersonation and cybercrime. As per Business Standard, "We have taken up the issue of usernames because there is a serious possibility of impersonation and the kind of encouragement or facility it provides for committing more cybercrimes. It is a very serious issue." The government directed WhatsApp to pause the rollout of the feature until consultations on the issue are completed to the satisfaction of the Government. The Centre also asked Meta to explain why action should not be initiated under the Information Technology Act and related rules over WhatsApp's proposed feature, which it said could lead to an increase in cybercrime. The aspect of usernames not being available to original or genuine users was also brought to WhatsApp's notice and will be examined. On June 29, Meta began rolling out usernames on WhatsApp — handles that let anyone be found and messaged without sharing a phone number. Within forty-eight hours, the government ordered Meta to hold the rollout in India and explain itself within three days.
As per the IT ministry official, "As the timeline for furnishing the detailed explanation on the 'usernames' feature is for three days, they will submit their final reply as per the schedule." This regulatory action represents the second time Meta finds itself under regulatory scrutiny this week. The broader issue of unsafe content on social media platforms has also been in the spotlight lately, with Karnataka and Andhra Pradesh's governments proposing measures to restrict social media usage by children while Maharashtra and Goa are mulling similar policies. The Centre too has been having discussions around implementing restrictions on social media for minors, according to reports. The Government issued a stern notice to Meta on child sexual abuse material in paid ads on Instagram and it seeks a detailed explanation within 7 days. Failure to furnish information may invite legal action under the IT Act and POCSO, as confirmed by NDTV Profit sources. The notice issued on Saturday evening is the second such notice issued to Meta in the last fortnight, highlighting the government's sustained pressure on the technology giant.
