Instagram is now under renewed scrutiny after it was discovered paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in India were approved and displayed by the platform. The quality of Meta’s advertising review and content moderation systems are being questioned.
The investigation claimed that many paid advertisements on Instagram had explicit terms concerning child sexual abuse and directed users to Telegram channels where illegal content was allegedly being sold for as little as Rs 99.
According to the findings, the advertisements were approved despite Meta’s policies specifically banning content that sexually exploits or endangers children. Paid ads go through a review process before being published, and hence the incident has raised questions about how such content made it through the platform’s moderation.
As part of the study, researchers developed a new Instagram account based in India to study how the platform’s recommendation algorithm worked. At first, the account followed a few profiles posting sexually suggestive but non-explicit content. Within days, the account began receiving advertisements containing adult sexual content before being shown advertisements allegedly promoting child sexual abuse material linked to Telegram channels.
The investigation discovered approximately 30 unique advertisements promoting CSAM, while the account also received about 20 advertisements containing adult pornographic content.
The distribution of child sexual abuse material and adult pornography is illegal in India. Meta's advertising policies also prohibit advertisements featuring adult nudity, explicit sexual content, or material involving the exploitation of children.
One advertisement reported through Instagram's in-app reporting system was originally found not to violate the platform's community standards. But after the findings were shared with Meta, the company said it removed multiple advertisements, suspended the accounts responsible, and blocked URLs associated with policy-violating content.
In response, Meta said child exploitation is a “horrific crime” and said that it works hard to detect and remove such material from its platforms.
The company also denied that it knowingly allowed or promoted such advertisements and said its advertising review process combines automated technology with human oversight. Meta acknowledged that “no system is perfect” and that a few violations may skirt detection before enforcement action is taken.
Meta says it continues scanning advertisements after they are published and encourages users to report content that violates its policies. It says when it detects child exploitation, it reports the material to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) as required under US law.
The investigation also looked at Telegram, where the advertisements appeared to have directed people. Two channels selling illegal content were reported to have been removed for violating Telegram's terms of service, while another was still in operation for some time after the complaint.
Telegram said it uses automated systems and human moderators to combat child sexual abuse material and claimed it has removed more than 274,000 groups and channels associated with such content in 2026.
Paid advertising was found to be the most common source of illegal content.
Former Facebook executive Brian Boland, who was at the company from 2009 to 2020, said the platform’s approach is not good for user safety; engagement-driven algorithms can have harmful effects if safety measures are not put in place. He said user safety should never be compromised in the name of advertising revenue.
Justice Madan Lokur (retired Supreme Court judge) also expressed concern about the allegations, saying that social media platforms cannot avoid responsibility when criminal content appears on their services, even if it is uploaded by users.
According to official data, India received nearly 1.9 million CyberTipline reports related to online child sexual exploitation in 2025, making it the second country to report such crimes after the United States. Child protection experts say that more cooperation among technology companies, law enforcement agencies, and governments is crucial to combat online exploitation networks and remove illegal content more quickly.
Meta continues to invest in artificial intelligence, detection technologies, and specialist teams to identify and remove harmful content while strengthening safeguards against those trying to exploit its platforms.
