India to summon Meta over child sexual abuse content
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A BBC investigation had revealed the presence of child sexual abuse material on Instagram ads.
PHOTO: REUTERS
- India's technology minister has ordered Meta to explain the presence of child sexual abuse content on Instagram ads following a BBC investigation.
- Meta is also asked to delay WhatsApp's new username feature in India due to concerns over fraud and impersonation risks.
- India continues to scrutinise Meta amid prior disputes over privacy and encryption, as it remains Meta's largest user market.
AI generated
NEW DELHI – India’s technology minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has asked his team to summon Meta Platforms over sexual content involving children on Instagram, government officials familiar with the matter said on July 3.
Meta did not comment on the summons. However, it responded to a BBC investigation, published earlier on July 3, that had revealed the presence of child sexual abuse material on Instagram ads.
Meta has a “zero tolerance policy for soliciting or sharing” such content, the company said in a statement, adding that its teams were constantly working to improve defences.
Vaishnaw’s order came on the day a Meta team met tech ministry officials to understand their concerns about WhatsApp’s new “usernames” feature, the officials said, declining to be named as the information is private.
WhatsApp has begun allowing users to reserve a username in a move it said boosts privacy. But in India, its biggest market with 600 million users, the company drew the state’s scrutiny.
The tech ministry ordered Meta to hold back on the feature’s roll-out for now and asked the company to explain the move over fears it could fuel online fraud, scams and impersonation.
Meta was expected to submit its reply by the weekend.
The twin push is part of India’s latest moves against Meta that has had previous run-ins with the government over issues including privacy and encryption.
India is the biggest market by users for Meta’s Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram apps. BLOOMBERG
