Key facts
- Meta ran hundreds of paid ads featuring AI-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on Facebook and Instagram over 10 months.
- A report by the Tech Transparency Project (TTP) identified 332 such ads, with 84 appearing in India.
- Many of these ads ran after the Indian government ordered Meta to remove CSAM content.
- The ads often used manipulated images of real children and directed users to AI image/video generation apps.
- Meta stated it has systems to detect and remove such content, and that many flagged ads were already removed or had low engagement.
Meta ran hundreds of paid advertisements featuring artificial intelligence-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on its Facebook and Instagram platforms over the past 10 months, according to a report by the US-based Tech Transparency Project (TTP).
The report, published Tuesday, found 332 such ads, with a significant portion appearing in India, even after the Indian government ordered Meta to remove all CSAM content and ads on Instagram.
TTP identified 84 ads that ran in India, with 78 published after the Indian government's directive and a meeting with Meta officials. The report details how these ads often used manipulated images of real children, including a member of a European royal family, and directed users to AI image or video generation applications, implying their use for creating or viewing CSAM.
Meta stated that it does not tolerate child exploitation and has systems in place to detect and remove violating ads, noting that many of the ads flagged by TTP had already been removed, had minimal impressions, and low ad spend. The company also reported identified exploitation to NCMEC.
However, organizations in India, like Just Rights for Children, argue that reporting to NCMEC is insufficient and that social media companies are flouting Indian laws by not reporting to local law enforcement. A petition has been filed in India's Supreme Court seeking mandatory reporting of CSAM by social media platforms.
TTP reported that after they alerted Meta to their findings, all the ads they had reported were removed, a pattern similar to what occurred during a previous BBC investigation.