Meta under scrutiny as Delhi Police registers FIR over child abuse material

Delhi Police has registered an FIR against Meta India over the availability of child sexual abuse material on its platforms, National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) member Priyank Kanoongo said on Wednesday.

"Acting on our directions, Delhi Police has registered an FIR regarding the availability of Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) on platforms operated by Meta India," Kanoongo said in a post on X.

The case comes amid increasing scrutiny of social media companies over the circulation of child sexual abuse material and online advertisements allegedly directing users to illegal content.

NCPCR summons Meta India executives

Earlier, on September 16, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) summoned Meta India's Managing Director and Head as part of its inquiry into the matter.

Between January and June 2026, Meta took action against 5.3 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content on Facebook and Instagram in India.

According to ANI, citing government sources, the NCPCR's continued follow-up on the issue also led Meta to revise its policy for reporting child sexual abuse cases.

The tech giant said online predators are increasingly disguising advertisements as harmless content to evade detection and direct users to illegal material on external websites.

Also Read: Nithya Raman wins LA mayoral race, becomes city's first Asian-American mayor

Meta has also committed to directly reporting child safety cases to the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, operated by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C).

Reiterating the company's commitment to tackling online child exploitation, a Meta spokesperson earlier said, "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."

"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 Centre (I4C)," the spokesperson added.