Aamir Latif
15 September 2026•Update: 15 September 2026
Meta said Tuesday it will begin reporting child safety cases directly to Indian authorities, reiterating its commitment to tackling online child exploitation and related crimes, state media reported.
"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,” state-run Doordarshan Radio cited a Meta spokesperson.
“To collectively strengthen our efforts to combat this harm, Meta will now report child safety matters directly to the Cybercrime portal managed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Center,” the spokesperson added.
It comes as New Delhi continues to focus on improving accountability of digital platforms and ensuring that online intermediaries take adequate measures to prevent the spread of harmful content, especially content affecting children.
It also follows a BBC Eye investigation into paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material on Meta’s platforms.
The investigation that was published in July, found that Meta-owned Instagram was running paid adverts promoting the material in India.
The findings prompted the Indian government to order Meta to remove all advertisements and content promoting child abuse material from its platforms.
Meta, which operates several major social media platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook and Instagram, said the move comes as part of its efforts to strengthen coordination with Indian authorities in addressing concerns related to child safety and online crimes.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights summoned the company’s Managing Director and head of Meta India last week, in connection with an inquiry into alleged advertisements related to child sexual abuse material.
The National Human Rights Commission had earlier directed the New Delhi police to conduct a comprehensive probe into allegations that paid advertisements on Instagram promoted child sexual abuse material.
