Meta cannot give the ‘third-party content’ argument if allegations involve paid ads promoting child sexual abuse material, PTI reported quoting sources on Friday. The development comes after Instagram parent company Meta received government notice in a matter related to ads being run on the platform showing child sexual abuse-based content.
Sources said that the government will seek an explanation and information on the action taken in its notice to Meta on child sexual abuse material ad allegations.
Earlier today, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw directed MeitY officials to summon Meta over Instagram ads allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material, marking the second instance of regulatory scrutiny initiated against the social media company this week.
The Menlo Park, California-headquartered technology giant Meta owns popular social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp.
Why Scrutiny Over Instagram Ads
The latest action from the ministry comes amid a BBC report that alleged Meta’s recommendation algorithm had been promoting videos containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), exposing serious gaps in the safeguards.
The BBC investigation had also allegedly found advertisements of this nature appearing on Facebook and Instagram, despite Meta’s advertising policies explicitly prohibiting nudity and sexually explicit content.
Instagram is alleged to have shown paid advertisements with terms such as ‘rape video’ and ‘child video’, which directed users to Telegram channels where such content was reportedly on sale.
Sources said Vaishnaw has given direction to officials in the IT Ministry to summon Meta on the issue of Instagram ads promoting child sexual abuse material.
A person familiar with the matter said the notice to Meta will seek the company’s response to BBC allegations that advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) were allowed to run on its platforms.
According to the person, the government is expected to seek answers on how such advertisements were even approved, what corrective measures Meta has taken since the allegations surfaced, and what safeguards it plans to put in place to prevent similar incidents in the future.
Meta Can’t Hide Behind Third Party Content
Even as an intermediary, Meta can’t hide behind the ‘third-party content’ argument or defence if allegations involve paid ads promoting child sexual abuse material, sources said.
“If the allegations are found to be true, they will be held accountable for the advertisements, for which the platform receives revenue,” the source said.
While the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) will review the technical and regulatory aspects of the matter, any agency, authority, or individual may file a complaint against the advertiser or platform if they believe offences under the law have been committed, sources pointed out.
Meta Yet To Respond
An email sent to Meta for comment on the government action did not elicit a response.
On the BBC report, a Meta spokesperson in an email response said Meta has a zero-tolerance policy for soliciting or sharing CSAM, including in ads.
“We use advanced AI technology to proactively detect violating content and individuals, but we are in a constant battle with criminals who hide among our 3.5 billion users and try to evade our detection.
“That is why our expert teams are constantly working to improve our defences, develop new technology to root out predators, block links to violating websites, and share intelligence with other companies so they can take action too,” the Meta spokesperson said.
What Punishment IT Act Prescribes
The IT Act prescribes stringent punishment for publishing or transmitting electronic content depicting children in sexually explicit acts. Section 67B of the IT Act specifically deals with online child sexual abuse material.
It criminalises publishing, transmitting, creating, downloading or storing electronic material depicting children in sexually explicit acts, and distributing such illegal content online.
The IT Rules impose due diligence obligations on intermediaries, including social media platforms, and violation can result in loss of safe harbour protection for third-party content hosted on their platform.
The Indian government has maintained a zero-tolerance approach towards CSAM, requiring online platforms to promptly detect, remove and report such content while strengthening safeguards to protect children in the digital ecosystem.
The government has, from time to time, also blocked websites containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), based on lists from Interpol received through the Central Bureau of Investigation, India’s national nodal agency for Interpol.
Authorities have repeatedly warned technology companies that any failure to crack down on CSAM and other harmful content could invite regulatory scrutiny and legal action.
Meta has come under regulatory glare for the second time this week.
On Wednesday, the Centre issued a notice to Meta questioning the planned username feature on WhatsApp, citing concerns that it could materially increase online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams, and impersonation attacks.
It directed the platform to pause the feature until consultations on the issue are completed “to the satisfaction of the Government”.
Sources said that WhatsApp will defer the rollout of the username feature.
Meanwhile, a team from Meta met officials in the IT Ministry following the notice summoning them over the contentious feature on WhatsApp. Given that the timeline for furnishing a detailed explanation on the ‘usernames’ feature is three days, Meta will submit its final reply as per the schedule, they added.
The Centre had asked Meta to explain why action shouldn’t be initiated under the IT Act and rules over WhatsApp’s new feature that may increase cybercrimes.
The government also reminded Meta that WhatsApp, as a significant social media intermediary, is bound by due diligence obligations under the IT Act and rules.
With inputs from PTI
