India warns Meta over child abuse ads on Instagram, WhatsApp username feature

India Cracks Down on Meta Over Child Safety & WhatsApp Privacy

New Delhi – India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has issued a formal notice to Meta, targeting two critical issues: the proliferation of child sexual exploitative and abuse material (CSEAM) on Instagram and a planned privacy feature on WhatsApp.

The government has directed Instagram to immediately disable paid advertisements and content promoting child sexual abuse material.

• Meta has been given a seven-day ultimatum to submit a detailed explanation.
• This action follows a BBC investigation that uncovered paid ads on Instagram explicitly promoting child sexual abuse material in India.

"Instagram must immediately disable such ads and content," the government ordered, demanding a clear account of how the platform failed to prevent the issue.

Separately, India has issued a warning regarding WhatsApp’s planned rollout of a username feature.

• The government claims this feature could increase cybercrime risks by making users more trackable.
• Meta has been directed to pause the rollout of the feature immediately.
• While Meta defends the feature as a privacy measure to allow users to connect without sharing phone numbers, the Indian government sees it as a potential security loophole.

In its defense, Meta has reiterated a "zero-tolerance policy" for child abuse content. The company claims it uses advanced Artificial Intelligence (AI) to detect and remove violations proactively.

However, Meta acknowledged that "malicious users" remain a persistent challenge.

• The Context: India is Meta’s largest market by user base, hosting over 480 million Instagram users and 400 million Facebook users.
• This vast userbase makes the platform a critical focus for both regulatory compliance and potential misuse.

The government’s dual action signals an increasingly stringent regulatory posture toward Big Tech in India.