A BBC investigation has found that Instagram approved and displayed paid adverts promoting child sexual abuse material in India, raising serious questions about Meta’s ad review system and its ability to detect criminal content.
A BBC Eye investigation has found that Instagram approved and displayed paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to users in India, despite the platform’s policies banning such content.
The investigation found that the adverts contained terms such as “rape video” and “child video” and directed users to channels on the messaging app Telegram, where illegal material was allegedly sold for as little as 99 rupees (about $1).
Because Instagram reviews advertisements before they go live, the findings have raised concerns about how the platform’s moderation system allowed the content to be approved.
To investigate, the BBC created an anonymous Instagram account in India after noticing the platform was recommending increasingly sexualised content without any searches for such material.
Within days, the account began receiving adverts featuring adult sexual content. Soon after, it was shown adverts depicting children in sexually suggestive situations, each linking users to Telegram channels.
In total, the BBC identified about 30 unique adverts promoting child sexual abuse material, while around 20 others promoted adult pornography.
The BBC also reported one advert showing what appeared to be a distressed young girl alongside text suggesting she had been sexually assaulted.
Twenty-four hours later, Instagram responded that the advert did not violate its community standards.
“Our review team found that the advertiser’s ad does not go against our community standards,” the platform said.
After the BBC contacted Meta for comment, the company removed several adverts, suspended the accounts responsible, deleted additional content and blocked related web links.
Meta acknowledged that mistakes can happen during moderation.
“No system is perfect, and our review process may not detect all policy violations,” the company said.
The company added that it continues to monitor adverts after publication and reports suspected child exploitation cases to the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), as required by law.
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The BBC also reported two Telegram channels allegedly selling child sexual abuse videos.
Telegram later removed one of the channels for violating its terms of service, while another remained active and continued posting new content.
Responding to the findings, Telegram said it had removed more than 274,000 groups and channels linked to child sexual abuse material during 2026.
The company said it uses both automated technology and human moderators to combat the spread of illegal content and believes it has “virtually eliminated the public spread of CSAM” on its platform.
The investigation has drawn criticism from legal experts and former Meta executives.
Retired Indian Supreme Court Justice Madan Lokur described the allegations as deeply troubling.
“This is a serious enough issue for the Supreme Court of India to take suo moto cognisance and get the government to act against any social media platform,” he said.
He added that social media companies “cannot shirk” their responsibility even when users upload illegal content.
Former Facebook vice-president Brian Boland, who helped build the company’s advertising business before leaving in 2020, said he was both “horrified and unsurprised” by the findings.
“I think what’s sad and tragic is over time, the trade-off of revenue and user experience became a more core part of the conversation,” Boland said.
He argued that Instagram’s recommendation systems are designed to keep users engaged by showing increasingly attention-grabbing content, warning that without stronger safeguards such systems can produce dangerous outcomes.
Meta rejected suggestions that it knowingly promoted such content or prioritised advertising revenue over user safety.
“Child exploitation is a horrific crime and Meta works aggressively to fight it on our apps,” the company said.
It also stated that more than four million accounts showing signs of suspicious behaviour were automatically disabled in 2025.
The BBC has reported the adverts and Telegram channels identified during its investigation to Indian authorities.
Experts say the findings highlight the growing challenge of tackling online child exploitation, particularly when criminal networks use multiple platforms to distribute illegal content while attempting to evade detection.
