Govt issues notice to Meta over alleged child sexual abuse material in Instagram ads

The government has issued a notice to Meta over alleged Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material CSEAM in paid advertisements on Instagram government sources said told news agency PTI on SundayThe notice was issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology MeitY on Saturday evening they saidMeitY has ordered Instagram to disable all ads and content promoting and facilitating access to CSEAM the sources saidThe ministry has also sought an explanation from Meta and details of the action taken over the alleged advertisements It has asked the company to submit a detailed response within seven days government sources saidThe development comes a day after Union Information Technology IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw directed MeitY officials to summon Meta over Instagram advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual abuse materialThe latest action follows a media report that alleged Metas recommendation algorithm had been promoting videos containing child sexual abuse material exposing serious gaps in the platforms safeguardsGovt seeks answers from Meta over alleged Instagram adsThe report also alleged that advertisements of this nature appeared on Facebook and Instagram despite Metas advertising policies prohibiting nudity and sexually explicit contentAccording to the report Instagram displayed paid advertisements carrying terms such as rape video and child video allegedly directing users to Telegram channels where such content was reportedly being soldAccording to a person privy to the development the government is expected to seek answers on how such advertisements were approved the corrective measures Meta has taken since the allegations surfaced and the safeguards it plans to introduce to prevent similar incidents in the futureGovernment sources said Meta cannot rely on the thirdparty content defence if the allegations involve paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse materialIf the allegations are found to be true they will be held accountable for the advertisements for which the platform receives revenue one of the sources saidWhile MeitY will examine the technical and regulatory aspects of the matter any agency authority or individual may file a complaint against the advertiser or the platform if they believe offences under the law have been committed the sources addedGovt maintains zerotolerance approach towards Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse MaterialThe government has maintained a zerotolerance approach towards CSEAM requiring online platforms to promptly detect remove and report such content while strengthening safeguards to protect children in the digital ecosystemThe government has also from time to time blocked websites containing child sexual abuse material CSAM based on lists received from Interpol through the Central Bureau of Investigation Indias national nodal agency for InterpolAuthorities have repeatedly warned technology companies that failure to crack down on CSAM and other harmful content could invite regulatory scrutiny and legal actionThe latest development marks the second time this week that Meta has come under the governments scrutinyOn Wednesday the Centre issued a notice to Meta over WhatsApps proposed username feature citing concerns that it could materially increase online fraud phishing digital arrest scams and impersonation attacksThe government directed the platform to pause the rollout of the feature until consultations on the issue were completed to the satisfaction of the GovernmentWhatsApp defers username feature after govt noticeSources said WhatsApp would defer the rollout of the username featureMeanwhile a Meta team met officials in the IT Ministry following the notice over the proposed featureGiven that the timeline for submitting a detailed explanation on the usernames feature is three days Meta will furnish its final reply as scheduled the sources saidThe Centre had asked Meta to explain why action should not be initiated under the Information Technology Act and the relevant rules over WhatsApps proposed feature which it said may increase cybercrimesThe government also reminded Meta that WhatsApp as a significant social media intermediary is bound by due diligence obligations under the Information Technology Act and the rules framed under itWith PTI inputs