Senior executives of Meta, which runs Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, appeared before the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on Wednesday, September 9, as part of an inquiry into alleged advertisements linked to child sexual exploitative and abuse material (CSEAM) on its platforms.
Details of the questioning were not immediately available. The appearance follows months of scrutiny over allegations that paid advertisements and recommendation systems on Meta’s platforms were facilitating access to child sexual abuse material.
Child Rights Body Steps In
The NCPCR had on July 3 taken suo motu cognisance of a BBC Eye report about alleged advertisements related to CSEAM and sought an explanation from Meta Platforms Inc.
Meta submitted its response to the commission a week later. The NCPCR subsequently decided to institute an inquiry to determine the facts and summoned the managing director and head of Meta India to appear before it on Wednesday, officials said.
The commission’s action comes amid concerns over the alleged availability and promotion of child sexual exploitation material through online platforms. The allegations raise serious questions about whether safeguards designed to prevent such material from reaching users are working effectively.
Government Sends Stern Notice
In July, the government issued a stern notice to Meta over CSEAM in paid advertisements on Instagram.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) ordered Instagram to disable all advertisements and content promoting or facilitating access to CSEAM. It also demanded a detailed explanation from the company.
The action followed a direction from IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw to MeitY officials to summon Meta over Instagram advertisements that allegedly promoted child sexual abuse material, PTI reports.
The government’s intervention, along with the NCPCR inquiry, puts greater focus on the responsibility of major technology platforms to ensure that their advertising and recommendation systems do not become routes to harmful or illegal material.
Also Watch:
BBC Report Raises Questions
The regulatory scrutiny came amid a BBC report alleging that Meta’s recommendation algorithm had promoted videos containing child sexual abuse material, exposing what the report described as serious gaps in safeguards.
The BBC investigation 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 displayed paid advertisements containing terms such as “rape video” and “child video”. These advertisements reportedly directed users to Telegram channels where such content was said to be on sale.
The allegations are particularly significant because they concern paid advertisements rather than only content independently posted by users. If established by the authorities, they would intensify questions about how such advertisements passed through platform safeguards despite Meta’s stated policies.
The NCPCR inquiry is now aimed at determining the facts surrounding the allegations. Details of what Meta executives told the child rights body during Wednesday’s appearance were not immediately available.
