Delhi Police's Special Cell has registered a First Information Report (FIR) over the alleged circulation of child sexual exploitation and abuse material (CSEAM) through platforms operated by Meta, following a complaint that flagged approximately 10 links, ANI reported citing Delhi Police. FIR No. 236/2026 was registered on October 8 under Sections 67 and 67B of the Information Technology Act, which deal with publishing or transmitting obscene and sexually explicit material in electronic form, including material depicting children.

Source: ANI via Indian Economic Observer

National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) member Priyank Kanoongo confirmed the registration in a post on X on November 4, writing: '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 @MetaIndia.' The NHRC had taken cognisance of reports alleging that paid advertisements on Instagram directed users towards external messaging channels offering such material, and sought explanations from the IT and Information & Broadcasting ministries and Delhi Police.

Source: ANI via APNA MA TV

The NHRC has also asked police to check whether Meta met its legal duty to report such offences under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, Zee News reported. The case grows out of a BBC Eye investigation published in July, which alleged that Instagram in India carried paid advertisements using terms linked to child sexual abuse content. Those are allegations reported by the investigation; Meta has not been convicted of any offence in this case and the police investigation is ongoing.

Source: Zee News

In parallel, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has been running its own inquiry into the alleged CSEAM advertisements and on September 16 again summoned Meta India's Managing Director and Head, according to government sources cited by ANI.

Source: ANI via APNA MA TV

Meta has said it acted on 5.3 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content in India during the first half of 2026, with more than 98 per cent detected proactively before users reported it, and the company has begun reporting child-safety cases to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) and the National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, ANI reported citing sources.

Source: ANI via APNA MA TV

What happens next: the Special Cell investigation will examine the flagged links and Meta's compliance with its reporting obligations. No individual victim is named or identified in the FIR reporting, and no arrest has been reported in the case so far.