Meta says it is using AI to detect child sexual abuse content on Instagram and Facebook

After facing backlash and legal inquiries from the Indian government over the presence of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on its platforms, Instagram and Facebook-parent Meta said it was using AI to improve how it detects such illegal content.

These strategies include new large language model (LLM) detection of CSAM, greater ad transparency, AI sweeps of ad content, a red-teaming AI agent to detect vulnerabilities, and detecting bad actors who make new accounts after being removed the first time.

Media reports had observed that CSAM was present in the ads on social media platforms Instagram and Facebook.

The Indian Union government and the National Commission For Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) had met with Meta over the issue.

A few weeks ago, Meta said it would share CSAM reports with the Indian law enforcement authorities. This was in addition to reporting to the U.S.-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

“Between January and June 2026, Meta actioned 5.3 million pieces of child sexual exploitation content on Facebook and Instagram in India, with over 98% found and proactively addressed before anyone reported it,” said the company in a press release.