06.07.2026
3 min
17
A BBC investigation found that Instagram displayed paid ads in India promoting child sexual abuse material, despite the platform’s strict policies prohibiting such content.
According to the investigation, the ads included terms such as “rape video” and “child video” and directed users to Telegram channels where the content was sold for just 99 Indian rupees (about $1).
BBC created a test account in India after noticing that Instagram was recommending sexually suggestive content even without any user searches or interaction.
According to the broadcaster, within less than a week the account began receiving ads featuring women offering video calls and “showing explicitly nude couples having sex.” A few days later, the ads escalated to include children alongside adults in sexually suggestive situations.
BBC identified 30 unique ads that allegedly promoted child sexual abuse material and linked users to Telegram channels. The test account was also shown 20 additional advertisements containing adult pornography.
The findings were reported to the Indian government, which said it had summoned representatives of Meta, Instagram’s parent company, over the investigation. Later on Saturday, India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology ordered Meta to remove all advertisements and other content related to child sexual abuse and exploitation, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Bloomberg.
Meta’s advertising policies explicitly prohibit sexually explicit content, stating that ads “must not contain depictions of nudity, sexual activity, people in explicit or sexually suggestive poses, or activities that are sexually suggestive.”
The company reviews ads before they are published, relying primarily on automated systems. If those systems are unable to make a clear decision, the ad is escalated for human review.
BBC reported one ad suspected of promoting child sexual abuse material to Instagram, but the platform responded that it would not remove it because “our review team found that the advertiser’s ad does not go against our Community Standards.”
The company later acknowledged that “no system is perfect, and our review process may not catch every policy violation.”
Meta added:
“We continue to use proactive detection technology to identify ads after they go live, and anyone can report an ad they believe violates our policies.”
The company also said it reports potential child sexual abuse material to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) for further investigation.
