Meta India executives face NCPCR questioning over child abuse material ads

Senior executives of Meta, the company behind Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, appeared before the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Wednesday in connection with an inquiry into alleged advertisements tied to child sexual exploitative and abuse material (CSEAM) on its platforms.

The commission did not immediately disclose details of the questioning.

The NCPCR had taken suo motu cognisance of a media report on July 3 and sought an explanation from Meta Platforms, Inc. The company submitted its response about a week later. The commission then decided to open an inquiry to establish the facts, and summoned Meta India's managing director and head to appear before it on Wednesday.

The proceedings reflect wider concern about the alleged availability and promotion of child sexual exploitation material through online platforms.

In July, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a stern notice to Meta over CSEAM in paid advertisements on Instagram. The ministry directed Instagram to disable all advertisements and content promoting or facilitating access to such material, and sought a detailed explanation. The action followed a direction from IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to summon Meta over the Instagram advertisements.

The regulatory scrutiny came amid a media investigation that alleged Meta's recommendation algorithm had been promoting videos containing child sexual abuse material, pointing to gaps in its safeguards. The investigation also allegedly found advertisements of this nature on Facebook and Instagram, despite Meta's advertising policies explicitly prohibiting nudity and sexually explicit content.

Instagram is alleged to have shown paid advertisements using terms such as "rape video" and "child video", which directed users to Telegram channels where such content was reportedly on sale.