India’s Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology will summon Meta executives to explain how Instagram advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material appeared on the platform, government sources confirmed on Friday. The directive from IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw follows a BBC World Service investigation that documented roughly 30 unique paid adverts using terms such as “rape video” and “child video” to direct users to Telegram channels selling the material. The ministry intends to demand an account of Meta’s moderation processes and why one advert reported by the BBC was initially deemed not to violate community guidelines.

Meta, in a statement to the BBC, said it had disabled several adverts, suspended the accounts that posted them, and blocked associated URLs. The company acknowledged that “no system is perfect” and that its review process may not detect all policy violations, while noting it runs proactive detection technology on live ads and reports apparent child exploitation to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Telegram separately stated it had removed more than 274,000 groups and channels linked to child sexual abuse material in 2026. The BBC has reported all the adverts and Telegram channels to Indian authorities.

The summons is the second regulatory action against Meta this week. On Wednesday, the same ministry issued a formal notice to WhatsApp over a planned username feature, directing the company to pause its rollout until consultations are completed “to the satisfaction of the Government.” According to the notice, the feature could materially increase online fraud, phishing, digital arrest scams, and impersonation attacks by allowing bad actors to adopt usernames resembling genuine individuals or institutions. The government has also sent similar notices to Telegram and Signal, asking both encrypted platforms to detail safeguards against identity spoofing and misuse. A senior IT ministry official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the username feature “facilitates cybercrime” by enabling impersonation, and that WhatsApp would not be permitted to proceed unless it can convince the government of its safety measures.

Viewed from New Delhi, the twin actions form part of a sustained tightening of oversight on global technology platforms. In February, India imposed rules requiring platforms to remove government-flagged content within three hours, down from a previous 36-hour window. Telegram was temporarily blocked in June ahead of a national examination, and the government has repeatedly clashed with X over content removal orders. Digital rights groups, including the Internet Freedom Foundation, have called for the notices to be revoked, arguing that the scrutiny of encrypted messaging apps directly threatens freedom of expression and lacks a clear legal basis. The state of the dossier now sees Meta summoned to answer on the child abuse adverts, WhatsApp’s username feature on hold pending a satisfactory response within three days, and Telegram and Signal under pressure to explain their own username functionalities. No further enforcement steps have been announced, but officials have indicated that non-compliance could trigger action under the Information Technology Act.