In brief
Tech Transparency Project researchers uncovered 332 ads containing child sexual abuse material on Meta’s Facebook and Instagram, 84 of them in India. The ads appeared after India’s government ordered Meta to remove all CSAM promotions. Meta claims it has strong safeguards, yet many ads were publicly visible and linked to AI‑driven “nudify” apps. Indian child‑rights organisations urge stricter enforcement and mandatory reporting to law‑enforcement agencies.
Meta still pushes child‑abuse ads in India after the government’s ban. The US‑based Campaign for Accountability’s Tech Transparency Project say it tracked 332 ads—including AI‑created images of children—in Meta’s platforms worldwide, with 84 ads appearing in India during August.
India’s Ministry of Women & Child Development ordered Meta to halt all child sexual‑abuse content in July. The report notes that many ads kept running even after the order, some commanding users to visit AI‑nudify apps or buy illegal material on Telegram.
Meta’s response: the company has automated systems that flag such material and it already removed several dozens of suspicious ads. Critics argue those systems missed many because the ads start with a normal child photo that turns into explicit content when the video plays.
Canvassing from Indian civil‑rights groups, a petition has been filed in the Supreme Court to force platforms to report CSAM to law‑enforcement agencies, a move the government is reviewing. The struggle highlights how easy it is for offenders to hop between platforms, making enforcement a global fight.
The story underlines a growing urgency: tech giants must tighten ad‑approval pipelines and coordinate with local regulators to protect children worldwide.
