IT Ministry Issues Notice to Meta Over CSAM on Instagram

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a formal notice to Meta-owned Instagram following reports of paid advertisements on the platform that promote and facilitate access to child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The government has directed Meta to disable all such content immediately and provide a detailed explanation within seven days regarding why and how these advertisements were approved for display on the platform.

This incident has revived intense scrutiny regarding the safe harbor protections currently afforded to social media platforms in India. Under existing regulations, platforms are generally immune from liability for third-party, user-generated content until it is brought to their notice. However, officials are now deliberating whether this immunity should extend to paid advertising content, which undergoes a preliminary moderation process by the platform before publication. The government is evaluating whether social media entities should be held more strictly accountable for the verification of commercial content.

Meta has stated that it maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding CSAM and employs advanced artificial intelligence (AI) tools to detect and block such material. Despite these efforts, the company acknowledged the ongoing challenge of identifying bad actors who attempt to evade detection within their vast global user base. This development is being viewed by experts as a potential precursor to stricter regulatory frameworks for child safety online in India, mirroring recent moves by countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia to limit social media exposure for minors.