Meta ad campaigns keep reaching India with AI‑generated child abuse images
A new report from the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) shows that Meta ran hundreds of paid adverts featuring child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on its Facebook and Instagram platforms over the last ten months. The investigation uncovered 332 such ads, most of which—274—appeared in August 2024.
Of those, 84 were displayed to users in India, 78 of which were active after the Indian government ordered Meta to remove all CSAM content following a BBC Eye investigation. While Meta said it had disabled several offending adverts and suspended the accounts that uploaded them, TTP found that many still remained live and that Meta’s own reporting mechanism had limitations.
The TTP report highlights that the ads frequently started with a photo of a real child, and then the image was altered with AI to show a sexual act. Some even included voice‑overs suggesting that users could create such material through apps promoted in the ads. The majority of these ads linked to AI image‑generation apps listed as “nudify” tools, mainly from Chinese developers, and one copy of the advertisement directed users to Telegram where the abused content could be purchased for as little as 99 rupees.
Meta’s response was that it has “strong defenses, including systems that block violating ads as well as ongoing monitoring,” though it also admitted that “determined criminals” can still slip through. Meta stated it would report any confirmed child exploitation to the U.S.‑based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), in line with its policy that ads must not contain or promote CSAM. The company’s internal moderation relies largely on automated technology to screen images, video and text before payment.
Indian child‑rights advocates argue that the company is not complying with national law. The Just Rights for Children network, comprising over 250 organisations, has filed a petition in India’s Supreme Court urging the platform to provide mandatory reporting and identification of any CSAM‑promoting accounts. According to the petition, Meta’s failure to report to Indian law‑enforcement agencies contradicts child‑protection statutes.
Cyber police officer Shikha Goel of Telangana’s Cyber Security Bureau noted the difficulty of policing CSAM, saying the ease with which potential offenders move from one platform to another hinders enforcement. She added that she is hopeful that the government will address the problem directly with social media intermediaries.
Until regulators and Meta strengthen their systems, victims remain vulnerable to repeated exposure to AI‑fabricated sexual content. The deeper issue lies in the rapid evolution of the advertising ecosystem, which facilitates the cross‑platform spread of illegal content while existing reporting mechanisms lag behind advances in AI technology.
