Meta Platforms is facing renewed scrutiny after hundreds of advertisements containing alleged artificial intelligence-generated child sexual abuse material (CSAM) were reportedly found on Facebook and Instagram.
The findings were published by the Washington-based Tech Transparency Project (TTP), which said it identified 332 such advertisements across the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Australia and India over a 10-month period.
According to TTP, 274 of the 332 advertisements were identified in August alone. The group said 84 were found in India, including 78 that appeared after the Indian government had ordered Meta to remove CSAM-related advertisements.
The order followed a British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) investigation that uncovered paid advertisements promoting such material on Instagram in India.
TTP alleged that some of the advertisements remained accessible even after Meta had been alerted. It said many involved photographs of children that were manipulated using artificial intelligence.
The organisation also claimed to have identified images involving real children, including a member of a European royal family. Most of the advertisements reportedly promoted artificial intelligence applications capable of generating or altering images and videos, with many allegedly linked to developers in China.
TTP said it reported all 332 advertisements to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the United States.
Meta rejected any suggestion that it tolerates child exploitation. The company said it prohibits so-called “nudify” applications and child exploitation material, whether real or generated by artificial intelligence.
Meta said criminals continually change their methods to evade detection and that it is strengthening its systems to counter such tactics. It added that many of the advertisements identified by investigators had already been removed and that most had received fewer than 200 impressions.
TTP also tested Meta’s advertising-reporting system using advertisements identified in India. Of the 84 advertisements it found there, 55 were still live when they were reported.
The organisation said Meta initially determined that 43 of those 55 advertisements did not violate its Advertising Standards, while 11 had already been removed and one had not received a response.
TTP said the advertisements it reported were eventually removed after it contacted Meta directly. The findings have nevertheless raised questions about how prohibited advertisements pass Meta’s initial screening and how quickly the company responds to complaints.
The controversy has also drawn attention from Indian child-protection and human-rights authorities. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) have said they are examining the issue following the earlier investigation.
Child-rights advocate Bhuwan Ribhu, founder of Just Rights for Children, argued that reporting suspected CSAM to NCMEC alone does not fully address India’s legal requirements.
His organisation has petitioned India’s Supreme Court for stronger measures against social media companies, including mandatory reporting and identification of people promoting child sexual abuse material.
Indian cyber police officer Shikha Goel, director of the Cyber Security Bureau in Telangana, said offenders can quickly move between online platforms, making it harder for law-enforcement agencies to identify and arrest those involved.
The problem is further complicated when offenders use multiple platforms and advertising accounts. Meta relies heavily on automated systems to examine advertisements, including their images, videos, text, audio, targeting information and links.
However, the latest TTP findings suggest that determined offenders may still be finding ways around those safeguards, particularly through artificial intelligence-generated material.
TTP also alleged that some advertisements were placed through Meta’s advertising agency partners in China, known as resellers, which reportedly handle significant volumes of Chinese advertising on Facebook and Instagram.
Despite previous investigations and government intervention, TTP said it continued to find new advertisements. It identified 17 additional advertisements, including 11 that it said appeared in India between September 1 and 2.
The latest revelations have intensified pressure on Meta to improve its advertising safeguards, strengthen artificial intelligence moderation and respond more rapidly to reports of prohibited content.
Child-protection advocates and regulators are increasingly calling for stronger moderation, faster reporting systems and closer cooperation between technology companies and law-enforcement agencies to protect children online.
