Instagram has been running paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material in India, with search terms like "rape video" and "child video" directing users to Telegram channels, according to BBC reporting.
The investigation by BBC reporter Divya Arya found that Meta's Instagram platform hosted ads explicitly promoting illegal content, with advertisers using search keywords related to child exploitation to drive traffic to external messaging services.
The ads appeared on Instagram's discovery and shopping features, directing users to Telegram channels where the material was shared. This represents a significant failure in Meta's content moderation systems, which are meant to detect and prevent such illegal material from being promoted on the platform.
India has become a major hub for child sexual abuse material online, with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reporting tens of thousands of images and videos from India annually. The discovery of Instagram's role in promoting this content raises serious questions about the effectiveness of automated detection tools and human review processes.
Meta has faced repeated criticism for inadequate content moderation, particularly in markets outside the United States. The company employs a combination of artificial intelligence and human reviewers to flag prohibited content, but the BBC's findings suggest these systems failed to catch advertisements explicitly promoting child exploitation.
The use of Telegram as a distribution channel is common among bad actors, as the encrypted messaging platform's moderation has been criticized as insufficient. By driving users from Instagram to Telegram, advertisers were funneling victims through Meta's platform to reach illegal material.
This incident adds to growing scrutiny of Meta's practices in India, where the company has faced investigations into data privacy, misinformation, and content moderation. The discovery underscores the ongoing challenge of preventing child exploitation on social media platforms at scale.
Meta has not yet issued a statement regarding the BBC's findings. The company previously committed to combating child sexual abuse material but the BBC investigation suggests significant gaps remain in implementation.
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