India’s National Human Rights Commission has demanded a detailed response from Meta following allegations that paid Instagram advertisements were used to promote child sexual abuse content, raising new questions about platform moderation and ad targeting.
India’s National Human Rights Commission has moved against Meta over allegations that paid Instagram promotions were used to push users towards child sexual abuse material, deepening scrutiny of the company’s moderation systems at a time when it is already under pressure from New Delhi over platform safety and content controls. The commission has given Meta 7 days to respond and has sought a detailed account of the advertisers involved, the accounts used, payment records, targeting settings and the possible reach of the promoted content, according to reports in Indian media.
The panel has also asked the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to examine whether the alleged use of Meta’s advertising tools breaches India’s information technology law, while Gurugram police have been told to investigate and register a first information report if any offence is found. In parallel, the commission wants Meta to preserve digital evidence and explain what human and automated checks were carried out before the ads were approved.
The latest notice comes amid a broader clash between the Indian government and Meta over content moderation. Over the past two weeks, the company has faced fresh allegations in India over child sexual abuse material, deepfakes and bot activity on Instagram, alongside criticism over the temporary removal of a Facebook post by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Separately, Meta’s chief global affairs officer, Joel Kaplan, recently briefed officials at MeitY, including information technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, on moderation and platform governance issues.
Meta has said it has zero tolerance for child sexual abuse material, including in advertisements, but the reports suggest Indian authorities are now pressing for more than policy assurances. The current inquiry appears focused on whether automated promotion tools and ad-targeting systems were used in a way that amplified abusive content, a question that could have wider implications for how social platforms police paid distribution as well as organic posts.
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