Published : 16 Sep 2026, 01:45 AM
Updated : 16 Sep 2026, 11:50 AM
Meta says it will begin reporting child safety cases directly to Indian authorities, following a BBC investigation that found Instagram running paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material in the country.
The tech giant says it will now report such cases directly to India's Cybercrime portal, managed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre, known as I4C, which operates under the country's home ministry, reports BBC.
"Protecting children on our platforms is a priority for us, and we're committed to working with the government to ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are held responsible," a Meta spokesperson said.
Until now, Meta has routed reports of apparent child exploitation through the US-based National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children, which then passes relevant information to law enforcement agencies in other countries.
Direct reporting to India would allow local authorities to receive information more quickly.
Meta has not specified when direct reporting will begin, which cases it will cover, or how the arrangement will work in practice.
The BBC Eye investigation, published in July, prompted the Indian government to order Meta to remove all advertisements and content promoting child sexual abuse material from its platforms.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights subsequently opened a formal inquiry and summoned Meta India's managing director, according to BBC.
India's National Human Rights Commission also issued notices to two government ministries.
A network of more than 250 child-rights organisations separately cited the BBC's findings in a petition before India's Supreme Court, asking the court to direct social media companies to report those promoting such material to Indian authorities directly.
