Govt to decide on next course after reviewing Meta’s response on Instagram notice: IT Secretary

New Delhi, July 9 (IANS) The government will take a view on further action against Meta after examining the company’s formal response to a notice issued over Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) allegedly promoted through paid advertisements on Instagram, IT Secretary S. Krishnan said on Thursday.

Speaking on the sidelines of the CII GCC Business Summit here, Krishnan said the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) is awaiting Meta’s formal reply before deciding its next course of action.

“We will await the formal response to the notice that we have issued, and thereafter we will take a view based on what the response is,” Krishnan said.

The government had issued a notice to Meta on Saturday after concerns emerged over paid advertisements on Instagram allegedly promoting and facilitating access to Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM).

MeitY directed Instagram to disable all advertisements and content linked to such material.

Earlier, IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw had instructed ministry officials to summon Meta and seek an explanation regarding the alleged presence of child sexual abuse material in advertisements on Instagram. The ministry also sought details of the action taken by the social media company to address the issue.

Within days of receiving the notice, Meta published a blog detailing its efforts to combat child sexual abuse material across its platforms. The company described child exploitation as a “horrific crime” and said it deploys artificial intelligence-powered detection systems alongside large-scale enforcement measures to identify and remove abusive content.

Meta also said it would continue investing in technology, strengthen its advertisement review processes and enhance safeguards to protect young users.

The government’s scrutiny follows reports that alleged Meta’s recommendation algorithm had been promoting videos containing child sexual abuse material, raising concerns over the effectiveness of the platform’s safety mechanisms and content moderation systems.

Speaking on India’s progress in infrastructure, he said that the country has the distinct potential to become the ‘office space of the world’—managing not just back-offices, but front-end global operations.

“This is an extraordinary opportunity we cannot afford to miss, and AI will be the ultimate catalyst in this endeavour,” Krishnan said.

–IANS

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