CNBC-TV18 contacted a Meta spokesperson, who neither confirmed nor denied the summons.
The summons issued by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) reportedly arose from a BBC investigation that discovered Instagram was displaying paid ads endorsing CSAM in India. The advertisements included terms like “rape video” and “child video,” directing users to Telegram channels where they could purchase the content for Rs 99.
Following this, reports indicate that Union IT Minister Aishwini Vaishnaw instructed officials to obtain an explanation from Meta regarding the matter.
“We leverage advanced AI technology to proactively identify violative content and individuals. However, we face ongoing challenges with criminals who operate among our 3.5 billion users and attempt to evade detection. This is why our expert teams are dedicated to enhancing our defenses, innovating new technologies to eliminate predators, blocking links to infringing websites, and sharing intelligence with other companies to facilitate action,” the Meta spokesperson stated in response to a CNBC-TV18 inquiry regarding the company’s comments.
Instagram ads are only published after they receive approval from its moderation technology, and Meta reportedly informed the BBC that the questioned ads did not breach the platform’s “community guidelines”.
(Edited by : Sriram Iyer)
