Meta Enhances Child Safety Measures in India by Reporting to Cybercrime Portal

Meta has taken a significant step in enhancing child safety by committing to report child safety issues directly to India's Cybercrime portal. This decision comes amid increasing scrutiny over the platform's role in the circulation of child sexual abuse material. The Indian government emphasizes the importance of online safety for children, and Meta's initiative is seen as a proactive measure to strengthen protections. The move aims to ensure that incidents of child exploitation are addressed effectively, beyond internal moderation systems. As global concerns about children's safety on social media rise, this initiative reflects a growing commitment to safeguarding vulnerable users.

By Narendra Chaudhary Sep 15, 2026, 12:24 IST

Meta's Commitment to Child Safety

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New Delhi, Sep 15: Meta has announced that it will now report issues related to child safety directly to India's Cybercrime portal, which is overseen by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C). This move was revealed by the US-based tech company on Tuesday.

This decision comes in response to increasing scrutiny regarding the alleged promotion and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through Instagram advertisements in India.

According to government sources, ensuring the online safety of children is a fundamental principle for all social media platforms operating within the country and is non-negotiable. Meta's commitment is viewed as a significant step towards enhancing protections for children on these platforms.

In a statement addressing the ongoing concerns, Meta emphasized that safeguarding children on its platforms is a top priority and expressed its dedication to collaborating with the government to hold offenders accountable.

"To enhance our collective efforts against this issue, Meta will now report child safety concerns directly to the Cybercrime portal managed by I4C," stated a spokesperson from Meta.

Social media platforms can inadvertently facilitate the distribution of CSAM and other forms of child exploitation.

By reporting these cases to law enforcement, it ensures that such matters are not solely managed through the platforms' internal moderation systems.

The government has indicated that further actions are necessary and is in discussions with other social media platforms to proactively identify and eliminate harmful content.

Additionally, it has warned that platforms failing to implement sufficient proactive measures to protect children online may face repercussions.

This development occurs amid increasing global scrutiny of social media platforms regarding the risks they pose to children, including exposure to sexual exploitation, harmful content, and online abuse.

In India, social media platforms are regulated under the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which outline due diligence responsibilities for intermediaries.

Meta has been under the spotlight following an investigation by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP), which revealed that Facebook and Instagram had hosted paid advertisements containing child sexual abuse material this year, including AI-altered images of real children.

The investigation also uncovered over 300 advertisements featuring AI-generated child sexual abuse material on Meta's platforms.