Instagram faces backlash over promotion of child abuse ads

Instagram has been reportedly running paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material in India, according to details revealed in a BBC News investigation.

These ads which included terms like “ child video” and “rape video” directed users to the messaging app Telegram, where such content could be purchased for as little as 99 rupees.

Upon a user reporting one of the ads to Instagram, the platform responded within 24 hours, asserting that the post did not breach its community guidelines.

However after the BBC’s inquiries, Meta, Instagram’s parent company addressed the issue stating that it had disabled several advertisements and suspended the accounts responsible for them. The company acknowledged that its review process may sometimes fail to flag guidelines breaches, underlining the crucial need for more improvement in its moderation systems.

Meta said in a statement: “ While determined criminals try to evade detection, our expert teams are constantly working to improve our defenses, developing new technology to root out predators, blocking links to violating websites, and sharing intelligence with other companies so they can take action too.”

The investigation further revealed that Instagram’s algorithm was promoting increasingly sexualized content including ads featuring children in unacceptable situations.

India’s top cyber police officer, Shikha Goel who is director of the Cyber Security Bureau in the Indian state of Telanganna, noted that both Instagram and Facebook generated the most tipline reports.

“ But that does not mean they are the largest,” she said.

“If they have a good algorithm to track child sexual abuse materal, then obviously more alerts will be generated.”

Following critics’ opinion, retired Indian Supreme Court Justice, Madan Lokur voiced concern over Instagram profiting from what he deemed criminal offenses, arguing that the platform has a major responsibility to ensure such content is not allowed to circulate.

The disclosures come as Meta relies heavily on advertisements for revenue which make up 98% of its $200 billion in annual earnings. Critics argue that Instagram’s algorithm is specifically designed to encourage the proliferation of more extreme content to retain user engagement, flagging severe safety risks and the company’s fundamental ethical responsibilities.