The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has summoned Meta India’s top leadership over disturbing allegations that paid advertisements on Instagram were being used to promote and facilitate access to Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material (CSEAM).
The Commission has directed the Managing Director and Head of Meta India to appear before it on September 9 as part of an ongoing inquiry into the allegations, which first came to light through an investigation by BBC Eye.
The matter was taken up by the child rights body suo motu after it took note of the BBC World Service report alleging that Instagram, Meta’s hugely popular social media platform, had allowed advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material to reach users in India.
Following the report, the NCPCR issued a notice to Meta Platforms, Inc. on July 3, 2026, seeking an explanation from the company over the serious allegations. Meta subsequently submitted its response to the Commission approximately a week after receiving the notice.
The NCPCR has now examined that response and decided that the matter requires a formal inquiry to establish the facts and determine the circumstances surrounding the alleged advertisements. The appearance of Meta India’s senior representatives on September 9 is part of these proceedings, with the Commission expected to seek further information and clarification from the company.
BBC investigation raises serious questions over Instagram moderation
The allegations stem from a BBC Eye investigation that examined how advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material could allegedly appear on Instagram and direct potential buyers towards external platforms.
According to the BBC report, advertisements viewed by the BBC World Service contained terms such as “rape video” and “child video”. The advertisements allegedly directed interested users towards channels on Telegram, where the material was reportedly being offered for sale for amounts as low as Rs 99.
The allegations are particularly serious because these were reportedly not merely posts uploaded by individual users and buried somewhere on the platform. The BBC investigation focused on paid advertisements, meaning content that had allegedly passed through Instagram’s advertising and moderation systems before being displayed to users.
The report further claimed that Instagram advertisements are subjected to the platform’s moderation technology before publication. Yet, when the BBC reportedly flagged one of the advertisements to Instagram, the platform responded the following day that the advertisement did not violate its “community guidelines”.
This has raised questions over the effectiveness of Meta’s systems for detecting and preventing the promotion of child sexual exploitation material, particularly when such content is allegedly being pushed through a paid advertising mechanism.
The NCPCR’s inquiry will therefore be significant not only in determining whether the allegations are factually correct, but also in examining how such advertisements could allegedly make it through Meta’s safeguards in the first place.
NCPCR seeks answers from Meta
The child rights commission’s decision to summon Meta India’s senior leadership indicates that it wants a more detailed explanation than the response already submitted by the company.
The Commission is expected to examine the circumstances surrounding the alleged advertisements, Meta’s content moderation mechanisms, the company’s response to the BBC investigation and whether appropriate action was taken when potentially unlawful material was brought to its attention.
The proceedings could also bring greater scrutiny to the responsibility of social media platforms in preventing their advertising infrastructure from being exploited for criminal activities involving children.
The issue is particularly sensitive because the alleged advertisements reportedly did not stop at exposing users to prohibited material. They allegedly served as a gateway to external channels where the material could be obtained for money.
If established, such a mechanism would raise questions about whether online platforms are doing enough to identify not only the material itself but also the networks, keywords, advertisements and behavioural patterns used to distribute or commercialise it.
NHRC also asks Delhi Police to investigate
The NCPCR is not the only statutory body to have taken cognisance of the allegations.
The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has separately directed the Delhi Police to conduct a detailed investigation into the claims that paid advertisements on Instagram were being used to promote child sexual abuse material in India.
The NHRC has specifically asked the police to examine whether Meta and other entities concerned complied with their mandatory reporting obligations under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
The human rights body initiated proceedings after taking note of reports published by the BBC World Service concerning the alleged Instagram advertisements and their purported links to Telegram channels.
The allegations were also brought before the NHRC through a complaint dated July 6. Subsequently, in a communication dated July 8, the Commission directed the Commissioner of Police, Delhi, to undertake a comprehensive investigation and submit an Action Taken Report.
This means that two separate statutory bodies are now examining different aspects of the same disturbing allegations: the NCPCR is seeking to establish the facts and examine Meta’s role and response, while the NHRC has called for a police investigation into the broader allegations, including possible compliance with statutory reporting requirements.
Meta’s safeguards under scrutiny
The controversy puts the spotlight on a fundamental question confronting major social media companies: can their automated moderation and advertising systems reliably prevent criminal networks from exploiting their platforms?
Meta operates some of the world’s largest social media platforms, and Instagram has an enormous user base in India. Its advertising ecosystem is designed to automatically review advertisements before they reach users, making the alleged appearance of advertisements containing terms associated with child sexual abuse particularly concerning.
The BBC’s allegation that Instagram did not initially consider one flagged advertisement to violate its rules adds another layer to the controversy.
The NCPCR proceedings will now seek to determine what exactly happened, how the advertisements were approved, what safeguards were triggered, whether any warnings or reports were generated and what action Meta took after the allegations were brought to its attention.
At the same time, the Delhi Police investigation ordered by the NHRC could establish whether any criminal activity took place and whether entities involved in the alleged chain complied with their obligations under Indian law.
It is important to stress that the allegations remain subject to investigation and have not, at this stage, been conclusively established by either statutory body.
However, the fact that both the country’s child rights watchdog and the National Human Rights Commission have taken cognisance of the matter underscores the seriousness of the allegations.
Meta India’s appearance before the NCPCR on September 9 could therefore become an important step in determining how the alleged advertisements appeared on Instagram, whether the platform’s safeguards failed, and what responsibility, if any, rests with the company and other entities involved.
