NDTV News Desk
The case stems from a BBC Eye media report that said Instagram had been running advertisements promoting what appeared to be child sexual abuse material in India.
The NCPCR has since decided to institute a formal inquiry to determine the facts and circumstances of the case. Meta’s India head has been summoned in continuation with the ongoing inquiry. The BBC Eye investigation alleged that paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material were running on Instagram in India. The BBC investigation had also allegedly found ads of this kind appearing on Facebook, despite Meta’s advertising policies explicitly prohibiting nudity and sexually explicit content. The case dates back to July this year, when two caregivers at Capegimini’s technology park in Bengaluru’s Brookefield were arrested over allegations of abusing toddlers. Horrifying videos of the abuse were shared online, where the accused were seen locking the children in bathrooms and keeping them inside washing machines.
The hearing is scheduled for September 16. There, users could buy such videos for as low as Rs 99.
The advertisements, the report said, used terms including “rape video” and “child video” to direct users to to chat app Telegram.
