Representative image (AP)

NEW DELHI: Govt Saturday evening issued a stern notice to Meta, directing it to immediately disable all paid advertisements and content on Instagram that promote or facilitate access to child sexual exploitative and abuse material (CSEAM), sources said.Ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) has given Meta seven days to submit a detailed explanation on how such advertisements were allowed to appear on Instagram, what checks were carried out before they went live, and what corrective action has been taken.The advertisements, govt sources said, were allegedly being used to direct users to external platforms hosting unlawful child sexual abuse material. The ministry has asked Instagram to disable all such ads and related content without delay, and put in place safeguards to prevent recurrence.

‘Zero tolerance’ for child abuse material, says Meta

Govt is treating the matter with utmost seriousness, particularly the alleged “algorithmic amplification” of sexually exploitative content through a large social media platform. Officials said paid promotions are expected to undergo stricter screening than ordinary user posts and the company will have to explain how its review systems failed to detect such content.A Meta spokesperson said the company has “zero tolerance” for soliciting or sharing CSEAM, 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 working to improve our defenses, 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 spokesperson said.The notice followed reports Instagram ads were being used in India to promote child sexual abuse material.