Government Issues Notice to Meta Over Instagram Child Abuse Ads

BBC Probe Exposes Child Abuse Advertisements

The development comes after an investigation by the BBC had claimed that Meta's recommendation algorithm had been promoting videos containing CSEAM. It had found serious gaps in the safeguards put in place. The investigation had also found that advertisements of CSEAM appeared on Facebook and Instagram, even though advertisements featuring nudity or sexual content are explicitly banned under its advertising policies.

It is alleged that paid ads on Instagram featured phrases like rape video and child video, directing users to Telegram channels selling such material. In its notice, the government has asked as to how such ads got approved, what steps Meta has taken since the allegations, and what precautions it plans to implement in the future to curb the issue.

Instagram Allegedly Promoted Harmful Explicit Content

In the course of its investigation, the BBC set up an alias Instagram account in India, as it noticed that the platform’s algorithm pushed sexually suggestive content even when users were not searching for it. To study Instagram’s recommendation engine, the BBC’s alias account followed ten profiles sharing sexually explicit content and received ads over a week promising video calls and sexually explicit content. 

Days later, the account also displayed ads that featured children with adults engaged in sexually suggestive ways with links to channels on Telegram. About 30 distinct ads promoting CSEAM were discovered, with some being published from various advertiser accounts, besides roughly 20 ads selling adult pornography.

Meta Cites Automated Detection And Blocked Accounts

In its response to BBC, Meta stated that it had already taken down many advertisements and blocked accounts associated with them. The company said it later removed more ads, suspended accounts and blocked URLs sharing violating content. Meta conceded that no system is perfect and assured that its process could miss some policy violations.

It noted that its automated content detection mechanisms monitor the ads even after they go live and it gives users the ability to report policy-violating content. It also said that it immediately reports child sexual abuse material that comes to its attention to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) - the global center for reporting online CSEAM, in compliance with all applicable laws.

WhatsApp Username Feature Also Faces Government Scrutiny

This is the second instance this week that Meta has drawn the ire of the government. The Indian government had earlier asked Meta-owned WhatsApp not to go ahead with its upcoming username feature on account of potential impersonation and fraud. In a notice to the tech giant, the ministry gave it three days to submit a detailed explanation about the username feature.

It is understood that the government advised WhatsApp that the new username feature might escalate online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams and impersonation attempts, by enabling wrongdoers to reach out to unsuspecting individuals. The government also pointed out that the feature could make it easier for individuals, government agencies, financial institutions, and public authorities to impersonate others through usernames closely resembling official ones.