Meta has issued a strong statement after the Centre served it a notice over Instagram advertisements allegedly linked to child sexual exploitation material. In a blog post released days after the government's action, the company said it takes child safety extremely seriously and rejected claims that it knowingly targeted users with such advertisements.
"Child exploitation is a horrific crime. We work aggressively to fight such abuse on and off our platforms,” it said. Responding to allegations, Meta firmly denied that it deliberately showed child-related advertisements to users based on inappropriate interests.
"It is categorically inaccurate to suggest that we'd knowingly and deliberately target ads featuring children to people based on an inappropriate interest in children.”
The company said its systems are designed to detect suspicious behaviour and remove accounts that may be linked to child exploitation.
1.6 lakh accounts removed in India
Meta said its AI-powered safety systems have helped identify and remove more than 1.6 lakh accounts in India over the past six months that showed suspicious links to child exploitation. Globally, the company said it removed over 4 million accounts in 2025 for suspected child safety violations.
It also said that between October and December 2025, it removed 13 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content across Facebook and Instagram, with more than 96% detected proactively before users reported them.
Government notice followed BBC investigation
The Centre's notice came after a BBC Eye investigation reported that Instagram had displayed advertisements containing phrases related to child sexual abuse, allegedly directing users to Telegram channels selling such illegal material.
Following the report, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) directed Meta to immediately remove such advertisements and content. The company has also been asked to submit a detailed explanation by July 11 on how the advertisements appeared on the platform.
Meta says action had already begun
Meta said it had already started taking action against some of the violating advertisements and accounts even before the BBC investigation was brought to its attention. According to the company, further investigation led to additional removals of advertisements, disabling of accounts and blocking of links connected to policy-violating content.
Meta admits no system is perfect
While defending its safety measures, Meta also acknowledged that preventing online abuse remains an ongoing challenge.
"We recognise that no system is perfect and that determined criminals will continue to try to exploit our platform."
The company said it continues to improve its AI tools, advertisement review systems and safety processes to detect and remove harmful content more effectively. Although Meta has publicly outlined its child safety efforts, government officials have clarified that the blog post is not the formal explanation sought in the notice.
The company is still required to submit a detailed response to MeitY by July 11, after which the government is expected to decide its next course of action.
Also Read: Centre to summon Meta officials over child abuse ads on Instagram in India
