Meta says it is using AI to detect child sexual abuse content on Instagram and Facebook
Meta said that between January and June 2026, it actioned 5.3 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content on Facebook and Instagram in India
Meta, the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has announced it is utilizing artificial intelligence to enhance its ability to detect and address child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on its platforms. This comes in response to criticism and legal inquiries from the Indian government following the discovery of CSAM in ads on the social media sites.
The company has implemented several strategies to improve CSAM detection, including leveraging large language model (LLM) technology, increasing transparency around ads, conducting AI-powered scans of ad content, employing a red-teaming AI agent to identify vulnerabilities, and identifying malicious users who create new accounts after being banned. These measures were revealed after reports surfaced indicating that CSAM was present in ads on Instagram and Facebook.
Following numerous meetings with the Indian Union government and the National Commission For Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), Meta committed to sharing CSAM reports with Indian law enforcement agencies. Previously, the company had also informed the U.S.-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) about the issue.
In the first half of 2026, Meta removed 5.3 million instances of child sexual exploitation content from Facebook and Instagram in India, with over 98% of the identified content being addressed before anyone reported it.
Written by urgent.news from The Hindu Health's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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