Instagram has been displaying paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material to its vast user base, a BBC investigation has claimed.
The probe brought to light ads that often contained phrases like “rape video” and “child video”, that allegedly directed users to the messaging patform Telegram where such content was being sold for as little as Rs 99.
The BBC said it created a test account in India after noticing Instagram’s recommendation systems increasing surfacing sexually suggestive content. Within days the test account began receiving advertisements featuring adult pornography and laters ads and links to Telegram channels promoting and offering child sexual abuse material.
The BBC investigation found around 30 unique advertisements linked to child sexual abuse content. One advertisement allegedly depicted minors engaged in sexual activity, while another promoted a Telegram channel using text suggesting sexual abuse of a 12-year-old girl.
After the content was reported to Instagram, the social media platform told the BBC account that the advert was not removed because "our review team found that the advertiser's ad does not go against our community standards".
Later, Meta said in a statement "Child exploitation is a horrific crime and Meta works aggressively to fight it on our apps.”
It also claimed that while its systems were designed to detect and remove harmful content, "no system is perfect" and some violations may evade detection.
Telegram told the BBC it had removed more than 274,000 groups and channels related to child sexual abuse material in 2026. It is widely known that pornographic content is shared on Telegram channels.
Former Supreme Court judge Madan Lokur described Meta’s show of sexual abuse content as deeply concerning. He told the BBC that social media platforms like Instagram and Telegram cannot evade the responsibility of providing answers if they were profiting from advertisements that were linked to sexual abuse material, as it can be regarded as “criminal activity”. He suggested the issue was serious enough for India's Supreme Court to take suo motu cognisance.
According to data cited by the BBC, India received nearly 1.9 million reports of suspected child sexual abuse material through the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reporting system in 2025, making it one of the highest-reporting countries globally, right after the US with two million reports.
Ashwini Vaishnaw orders MeitY to summon Meta
Union minister for electronics and information technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw, has directed MeitY to summon Meta on the matter of Instagram ads promoting child sexual abuse material in India, according to sources.
This is the second time in a week that Meta has faced heat from the ministry after it issued a notice to Meta questioning the planned username feature on WhatsApp on Wednesday.