Story perspectives

Meta summoned in India over 332 child abuse ads

9/9/2026

Summary

Meta Summoned

NCPCR summoned Meta India MD Arun Srinivas and its public policy head on September 9, 2026.
The summons follows a July 3 notice after the commission took suo motu cognisance of a BBC Eye probe.
Investigators found Instagram ads priced at Rs. 99 that redirected users to Telegram channels offering child sexual abuse material.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a July notice demanding Instagram disable the ads and explain their approval.

Summary

Meta Runs CSAM Ads

Meta Platforms ran 332 ads with suspected child sexual abuse material on Facebook and Instagram in 2026.
The Tech Transparency Project found 274 ads appeared in August.
84 ads ran in India, including 78 after the government’s removal order.
Meta said 57% of reports claimed the ads did not violate its Advertising Standards.
Meta removed 43% of the ads, leaving six visible in the Ad Library.

History

Historical Context

In August 2015 the Supreme Court of India, under the Information Technology Act 2000, ordered the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to block about 1,200 child-abuse URLs within thirty days. With CERT-IN’s 2003 mandate, the 2012 POCSO Act and the 2024 Sahyog portal automating thousands of takedowns, NCPCR’s 2025 summons of Meta’s India head over Instagram ads linking to Telegram CSAM channels shows escalating enforcement.

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Meta Summoned

NCPCR summoned Meta India MD Arun Srinivas and its public policy head on September 9, 2026.
The summons follows a July 3 notice after the commission took suo motu cognisance of a BBC Eye probe.
Investigators found Instagram ads priced at Rs. 99 that redirected users to Telegram channels offering child sexual abuse material.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a July notice demanding Instagram disable the ads and explain their approval.

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