- Paid adverts promoting child sexual abuse material were reportedly approved by Instagram's automated review system in India.
- Meta removed several adverts and suspended accounts after being alerted but initially said one reported advert did not violate its policies.
- The findings have renewed scrutiny over how social media platforms moderate paid advertising and protect children online.
Instagram's advertising moderation system is facing fresh scrutiny after a BBC Eye investigation found that paid adverts promoting child sexual abuse material were approved and displayed to users in India, despite the platform's policies banning such content.
According to the report, the adverts used explicit phrases such as "rape video" and "child video" and directed users to Telegram channels where the illegal material was allegedly sold for as little as ₹99. The findings have raised questions over Instagram's ad moderation system and Meta's content review process, particularly because paid advertisements are meant to undergo checks before they are published.
The report said it launched the investigation after noticing Instagram recommending sexually suggestive content to users who had not searched for such material. To examine how the platform's recommendation and advertising systems worked, the broadcaster created an alias account in India and followed 10 accounts posting suggestive, but non-explicit, content.
Within a week, the account reportedly began receiving paid advertisements featuring women offering video calls and explicit sexual content. Days later, it is reportedly said the account was shown adverts depicting children in sexually suggestive situations alongside adults, with links directing users to Telegram channels. The broadcaster reported identifying about 30 unique adverts promoting child sexual abuse material, as well as roughly 20 adverts featuring adult pornography.
When the safeguards failed
Unlike ordinary social media posts, paid advertisements on Instagram are reviewed before publication. Meta says its review system relies mainly on automated technology to assess images, videos, text, audio, website links and audience targeting, while referring uncertain cases for human review.
It is reported one of the adverts, which showed a young girl appearing distressed alongside wording indicating sexual abuse. According to the broadcaster, Instagram responded within 24 hours saying the advert did not violate its community standards.
As per the Meta response, the company said it had disabled several adverts, suspended the accounts responsible, removed additional advertisements, blocked URLs linked to the content and taken action against more accounts found to be violating its policies.
In a statement shared with the BBC, Meta described child exploitation as "a horrific crime" and said it works aggressively to remove such content from its platforms. The company reportedly acknowledged that "no system is perfect" and that its review process may not detect every policy violation. It added that suspicious cases are reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, while its teams continue developing technology to identify and remove abusive material.
Meta also said it automatically disabled more than four million accounts in 2025 after detecting signals of potentially suspicious behaviour. The company rejected suggestions that it knowingly prioritised advertising revenue over user safety.
Pressure grows on social media platforms
The investigation also drew attention to Telegram, where many of the adverts reportedly redirected users. The report states that the two Telegram channels linked to the sale of child sexual abuse material. One channel was later removed, while another reportedly remained active.
Telegram reportedly said it uses both automated systems and human moderators to remove child sexual abuse material and said it had eliminated much of the public spread of such content on its platform. The company added that it had removed more than 274,000 groups and channels linked to child sexual abuse material in 2026.
The findings have prompted renewed debate over whether technology companies are doing enough to prevent illegal content from spreading through paid advertising.
Former Madan Lokur reportedly described the issue as serious enough for India's Supreme Court to consider intervening. He reportedly said social media platforms cannot avoid responsibility simply because illegal content is uploaded by users, as quoted in a news report.
Former Brian Boland, who helped build Facebook's advertising business, reportedly said he was "horrified and unsurprised" by the findings. He argued that recommendation algorithms designed to maximise engagement can produce harmful outcomes if they are not carefully controlled, as quoted in a news report.
Advertising remains Meta's largest source of income. The company reported that nearly 98 per cent of its £152 billion ($200 billion) revenue for the financial year ending 2025 came from advertising, while analysts estimate that adverts account for more than 90 per cent of Instagram's revenue.
The findings are likely to add to growing pressure on major social media platforms to strengthen advertising safeguards and ensure automated moderation systems are better equipped to prevent illegal content from reaching users.
