Days after the Centre issued a notice over Instagram advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual exploitation material (CSEAM), Meta has denied claims that it knowingly targeted users with such content. The company said it takes child safety seriously, highlighted its enforcement measures, and stated that it had already removed several violating advertisements before the issue was publicly reported.
The company rejected allegations that it knowingly targeted users with such advertisements and said the claims were “categorically inaccurate.” In a blog post on Tuesday, Meta said, “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 firm said that on the contrary, it uses “technology to identify accounts that have shown potentially suspicious activity related to children”, saying it had automatically removed over 4 million of such accounts in 2025.
Meta also said it is committed to continuously improving its systems to prevent child exploitation content from appearing on its platforms, “We’re aware of recent news reports about Instagram ads in India that violated our policies against child exploitation. And we want to be clear: we take these concerns seriously, we never want this content on our platforms, and we’re committed to improving our efforts to combat it.”
Why Did The Centre Send A Notice To Meta?
The government acted after a BBC Eye investigation reported finding around 30 Instagram advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material. The report claimed some advertisements contained phrases such as “rape video” and “child video” and directed users to Telegram channels allegedly selling child sexual abuse material. Following the report, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) directed Meta to immediately remove such content and submit a detailed explanation within seven days. The deadline for Meta’s response is July 11.
Has Meta Responded To The Government’s Notice?
A MeitY official clarified that Meta’s blog post is not the official explanation requested by the government. The company is still required to submit a detailed response to the ministry before the July 11 deadline. A person familiar with the matter at Meta said the blog post was part of the company’s regular communication about its child safety efforts and was not issued specifically in response to the government’s notice.
What Action Has Meta Already Taken?
Meta said its enforcement systems had already detected and removed several violating advertisements and accounts even before the BBC investigation was published.
After reviewing the issue further, the company removed additional advertisements, disabled more accounts and blocked URLs linked to policy-violating content.
Meta added that AI-powered systems helped remove around 160,000 accounts in India over the past six months.
Meta said that between October and December 2025, it removed around 13 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content across Facebook and Instagram. According to the company, more than 96% of this content was detected and removed proactively before it was reported by users.
Meta acknowledged that no moderation system can completely prevent criminals from trying to misuse online platforms. The company admitted that some violating advertisements may escape detection but said it continues to strengthen its ad review systems and improve enforcement using artificial intelligence and human review. Meta also noted that it regularly publishes transparency reports and has appointed statutory compliance officers in India under the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
Also Read: Meta In Trouble? Centre To Summon Officials Over Instagram Child Abuse Ad Controversy
