Delhi police register criminal case against Meta over child sexual abuse material

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Delhi Police has registered a First Information Report against Meta over the availability of child sexual exploitation and abuse material on its platforms, acting on directions from India's National Human Rights Commission. Commission member Priyank Kanoongo announced the filing publicly. An FIR is the document that opens a criminal investigation in India.

The case has a documented trail. In July, a BBC Eye investigation reported that Instagram displayed paid advertisements promoting child sexual abuse material to users in India, with some of the ads redirecting to Telegram channels where such material was circulated and sold. India's Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology then sought an explanation from Meta and directed the company to act against the ads and the content behind them. The human rights commission took up the allegations and handed the matter to Delhi Police, which has now registered the FIR.

The instrument is what sets the case apart. Where platform misconduct is normally answered with fines — a compliance department receives an invoice, lawyers appeal, and the cost appears as a line in quarterly accounts — Delhi Police have opened a criminal file at the direction of a statutory rights commission. Moderation is typically budgeted against the cost of getting caught, and in most jurisdictions that cost is a fine, a known amount that can be planned for. A police investigation is not.

The BBC's reporting also crossed platforms: the advertisements ran on Instagram, the material itself was sold on Telegram, and the criminal case has landed on the company that displayed the ads. Meta India has not yet issued a verified response.