NEW DELHI: The ministry of electronics and information technology (MeitY) issued a stern notice to Meta on Sunday over the alleged presence of child sexual exploitative and abuse material (CSEAM) in paid advertisements on Instagram, ANI reported citing sources.The ministry has directed Instagram to immediately disable all advertisements and content that promote or facilitate access to CSEAM on the platform. The government has also sought a detailed explanation from Meta on the issue within seven days.The Centre’s action comes after a recent BBC investigation alleged that Instagram displayed paid advertisements in India containing explicit terms and links directing users to Telegram channels where child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was allegedly being sold. According to the report, the advertisements originated from an India-based account and had cleared Instagram’s moderation systems before appearing on the platform. Responding to the report, Meta said it had removed multiple advertisements and accounts, blocked the violating URLs, and reiterated its “zero tolerance policy” towards soliciting or sharing child sexual abuse material, including through advertisements. The company has also said it uses artificial intelligence and other technologies to detect and remove abusive content but acknowledged the challenge of identifying offenders among its billions of users.