Meta has responded to recent reports about Instagram advertisements in India that allegedly violated its policies against child exploitation, saying it has taken action against the violating content and accounts involved.
According to the company, its enforcement systems had already detected and disabled several of the violating ads and the accounts behind them before the reports surfaced. Following an internal investigation, Meta said it removed additional ads, disabled more accounts and blocked URLs linked to policy-violating content.
The company also rejected claims that it knowingly targeted advertisements featuring children to users with an inappropriate interest in children. Instead, it said it uses technology to identify accounts showing potentially suspicious activity related to children, adding that more than 4 million such accounts were automatically removed globally last year.
Ad review and enforcement
Meta said it uses a combination of automated systems and manual reviews to enforce its advertising policies. Advertisements are automatically checked before they are published, while users can also report ads they believe violate company policies. Ads remain subject to review and re-review after publication and may be removed or restricted if violations are identified. The review process covers all ad components, including images, videos and text.
The company also monitors and investigates advertiser behaviour, and reviews advertisers’ Business Accounts and related assets, including ad accounts, Pages and user accounts. If violations are found, advertisements may be rejected and the associated Business Account or its assets may be restricted from advertising across Meta’s technologies.
Meta said its Community Standards and Advertising Standards prohibit child nudity, abuse and exploitation, including the sharing or solicitation of child exploitation imagery, inappropriate interactions with teenagers and the sexualisation of minors. Advertisements must comply with these standards and must not contain content that sexually exploits or endangers children.
Enforcement figures
Meta shared several figures outlining its enforcement efforts against child exploitation:
- More than 4 million suspicious Facebook and Instagram accounts were automatically removed globally last year.
- The company removed 36 million pieces of child exploitation-related content globally during the same period.
- AI-based detection systems led to the removal of 160,000 accounts in India over the past six months after identifying suspicious off-platform links alongside other signals.
- Between October and December 2025, Meta removed 13 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content from Facebook and Instagram, with more than 96% detected proactively before being reported.
Reporting and transparency
Meta said that when it becomes aware of apparent child exploitation, it reports the cases to law enforcement authorities through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in accordance with applicable laws. In India, such reports are submitted by NCMEC to the national cybercrime reporting portal on Meta’s behalf under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2021 and related rules.
The company publishes its Community Standards Enforcement Report, which includes data on content removals and proactive detection across Facebook and Instagram. It has also published monthly transparency reports for India since June 2021 under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
These reports include actions taken against violating content on Facebook, Instagram and Threads for content created by users in India, proactive detection rates, user grievances and orders received from the Grievance Appellate Committee. Meta added that it has appointed a Chief Compliance Officer, Grievance Officer and Nodal Contact Person as required under the IT Rules.
Industry initiatives
Meta highlighted several initiatives aimed at tackling child exploitation across platforms:
- Lantern: A Tech Coalition programme that enables participating technology companies to share signals related to predatory accounts and behaviour. Meta said more than 2 million signals had been shared through Lantern by the end of 2025, supporting over 350,000 enforcement actions.
- Blocking external links: The company said it blocks links to third-party websites hosting child exploitation material and shares violating URLs with participating platforms through Lantern.
- Take It Down: Meta said it supported NCMEC in developing the tool, which helps prevent the spread of intimate images involving young people online.
Meta said it will continue investing in detection technology, advertising review systems and collaboration with law enforcement to combat child exploitation across its platforms.