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NEW DELHI: Social media giant Meta removed more than 5 million pieces of objectionable content across Facebook and Instagram in India over a six-month period between January and June. A large portion of the removed material was linked to child sexual exploitation and nudity or obscenity. According to data shared by the company, approximately 98 percent of the total content taken down was identified proactively by Meta’s artificial intelligence-based monitoring systems before any user reported it, highlighting the expanding role of automated technology in maintaining online safety.
Arun Srinivas, Head of Meta in India, stated that the company is continuously strengthening its technical surveillance to detect and remove material that violates its platform policies. AI-driven systems scan posts, photographs, and other uploaded content around the clock. Whenever suspicious material is detected, automated processes either remove it directly or flag it for further review. This approach helps reduce the time such harmful content remains visible on the platforms.
Proactive AI Systems Lead Content Removal
Company figures indicate that nearly 98 percent of the over 5 million pieces of content removed between January and June were caught prior to receiving user complaints. This demonstrates that Meta’s moderation framework does not rely solely on user reporting, as automated systems are actively working to detect potential policy violations in real time.
Material involving child sexual exploitation remains one of the most severe safety challenges for social media networks, as its circulation directly threatens the privacy and safety of victims. Similarly, platforms must maintain constant vigilance to remove obscene and other prohibited content. Given the massive volume of daily posts and active users, human review of every single piece of content is not feasible, making AI-based detection systems essential to content moderation efforts.
Offenders Shift Tactics Toward Advertisements
Despite the large-scale removal of objectionable posts, bad actors are continuously adapting their methods. The Meta India chief acknowledged that following stricter enforcement on the platforms, individuals involved in illicit activities have shifted away from posting harmful content directly. Instead, they are increasingly turning to advertisements to carry out their operations, presenting a new challenge for social media companies.
Previously, offenders would directly upload material on Facebook and Instagram that violated platform guidelines. As monitoring and enforcement tightened, they altered their promotional strategies. Now, they use advertisements to capture user attention and redirect them away from Facebook or Instagram to external websites or mobile applications.
Limited Visibility Outside Platforms Poses New Hurdles
In this evolving pattern, social media platforms are used primarily to reach users and prompt them to click on external links, while the actual illicit activity takes place on a separate website or app. Once a user leaves the platform, Meta has limited direct control over the content shown to them, the personal information requested, or how they are treated on the external site.
This shift has made monitoring significantly more complex. While the company can inspect posts and advertisements hosted within its own ecosystem, tracking every activity that occurs after a user lands on an external website is difficult. Meta has admitted that its ability to monitor off-platform activities has clear limitations. Although advertisements are generally meant to promote legitimate businesses, products, and services, their misuse to funnel users toward suspicious external destinations has created a major security hurdle. Addressing this requires stronger detection of deceptive advertisements and suspicious links to curb off-platform abuse effectively.
