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The Government of India has issued a strict notice to Meta regarding paid advertisements to Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSEAM) on Instagram. MeitY has directed to immediately remove all such advertisements and content and has sought a detailed explanation from the company within 7 days.

The Indian government has taken a tough stance against Meta after paid advertisements to Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) surfaced on Instagram. According to the information, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has sent a formal notice to the company directing it to immediately remove all such advertisements and materials that promote access to or make available in any way material to child sexual abuse.

Sources say that the government has also sought a detailed reply from Meta on this entire matter and a deadline of seven days has been set for this. The ministry wants to clarify how such advertisements were shown on a big platform like Instagram, what kind of security arrangements were in place to stop them and what new steps the company is planning to prevent such incidents in future. Now all eyes are on Meta’s response and the possible changes it will make to the ad moderation system.

Minister gave instructions for strict investigation
The government’s displeasure has come to light regarding obscene material. It is being told that recently Union IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnav had instructed MeitY to summon Meta in this matter. The ministry especially has objection to those Instagram advertisements, through which there are allegations of promoting material to child sexual abuse.

Government takes strict stance on children’s safety
Describing this issue as very serious, the government has said that there will be no compromise on the online safety of children and it is necessary to fix the accountability of social media platforms. The Center believes that the dissemination of such content through paid advertisements becomes even more dangerous. In the past also, the government has been taking strict action against objectionable content on online platforms, in which steps have also been taken on many OTT platforms.

Emphasis on accountability of digital platforms
The government says that big social media platforms will have to strengthen their content moderation and advertising review systems, so that no illegal or objectionable content reaches the users. Especially in matters to the safety of children, platforms will have to take immediate and strict action. The ministry is also reviewing whether the existing rules and monitoring arrangements are adequate or require more stringent reforms.