After govt notice, Meta details child safety steps

NEW DELHI: Meta Tuesday announced a fresh set of measures to combat child exploitation across its platforms, days after the Indian govt issued a notice over Instagram advertisements allegedly carrying child sexual abuse material, putting further pressure on the company to strengthen its safety systems.In a blog post, the company said it had already identified and disabled several offending advertisements and accounts before the issue was flagged publicly. A subsequent investigation led to the removal of additional ads, disabling of more accounts and blocking of URLs linked to policy-violating content.Meta said it uses advanced AI tools to detect accounts sharing suspicious off-platform links and other signals associated with child exploitation. "In the last six months alone, this led to the removal of 160,000 accounts in India," the company said.Rejecting claims that its advertising systems deliberately targeted users with an inappropriate interest in children, Meta said its technology detects suspicious behaviour and that it removed more than four million accounts globally last year for potentially suspicious activity related to children.The company said it combines automated systems with manual reviews to vet advertisements and monitor advertiser behaviour. Businesses violating its advertising or community standards may face restrictions or a ban from advertising across Meta platforms.Meta also highlighted its investments in artificial intelligence to improve content enforcement, saying its AI systems now support moderation in languages used by 98% of internet users.The company said it remains committed to working with law enforcement agencies and industry partners while investing in new technologies, intelligence sharing and stronger safeguards to protect children online.Get the latest India news and live updates. Download the TOI App.