New Delhi, July 3 (IANS) Union Minister for Electronics and Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw has reportedly directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to summon officials of Meta over advertisements hosted on Instagram that allegedly promoted child sexual abuse.

According to sources, the ministry will seek an explanation from the US-based technology company over how such advertisements appeared on Instagram, one of its social media platforms, and the safeguards in place to prevent the circulation of such content.

Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp, is expected to be asked to explain how the advertisements were allowed to run on its platform and what measures the company has taken to detect, remove and prevent content related to child sexual abuse.

The ministry is also likely to seek details of Meta’s content moderation mechanisms, advertisement review processes and the steps being taken to strengthen enforcement against illegal and harmful content on its platforms, sources added.

However, Meta hadn’t issued an official statement on the matter at the time of writing this news article.

The development comes days after the government halts WhatsApp username rollout in India. Responding to it, the messaging platform clarified that its upcoming username feature will be optional and reiterated that several safeguards have been built in to prevent impersonation, scams and unwanted contact as it prepares for a wider rollout later this year.

The messaging platform addressed a series of frequently asked questions on microblogging platform X after concerns were raised over the feature, including by the government which has asked the company to defer its rollout in the country pending consultations.

The company said users will not be required to create a username and that existing Instagram and Facebook usernames, along with those of public figures, celebrities, government entities and Meta Verified accounts, have been reserved so they can only be claimed by their legitimate owners.

–IANS

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