NCPCR Summons Meta India Head Again Over Instagram Child Abuse Ads
NCPCR has summoned Meta India's managing director for a September 16 hearing in its inquiry into alleged child sexual abuse material advertisements on Instagram.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has summoned the Managing Director and Head of Meta India to appear before it on September 16, in a continuing inquiry into advertisements allegedly linked to Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM).
The summons follows an earlier call for the senior executive to appear on September 9, making this the latest in a series of appearances sought by the commission.
The inquiry traces back to a BBC Eye investigation which reported that Instagram had been running paid advertisements in India that appeared to promote child sexual abuse material. According to the investigation, the advertisements used terms such as "rape video" and "child video" to redirect users to the messaging app Telegram, where such videos were allegedly being sold for as little as Rs 99. The report also claimed that similar advertisements were appearing on Facebook, despite Meta's advertising policies prohibiting nudity and sexually explicit content.
The NCPCR took suo motu cognisance of the matter on July 3 and asked the technology company to explain its position. Meta submitted its response a week later. The commission subsequently decided to institute a formal inquiry to establish the facts and circumstances of the case.
Separately, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) issued a strict notice to the company in July regarding CSEAM in paid advertisements on Instagram, and directed the platform to disable all such advertisements.
In response to the commission's sustained follow-up, Meta has revised its policy on reporting child sexual abuse cases and has begun reporting such cases to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).
The commission's scrutiny comes amid broader concerns about the availability and promotion of child sexual exploitation material through online platforms.
In an unrelated matter, the NCPCR has also summoned the Vice President of Capgemini to appear on September 16 at 4 PM, to examine alleged child abuse at a day care centre operated by the company in Bengaluru. The case dates back to July, when two caregivers at Capgemini's technology park in the city's Brookefield area were arrested over allegations of abusing toddlers. Videos of the abuse, which were shared online, showed the accused locking children in bathrooms and placing them inside washing machines.