The government is reviewing Meta on two fronts, its response to a CSAM notice and the legality of the Muse Image AI feature that uses public Instagram content, raising privacy concerns.
Meta is facing wider legal troubles in India. After the government issued a notice to the company in a matter related to ads being run on Instagram showing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), the Centre is now also examining the Meta’s Muse Image feature that lets people use public Instagram posts and reels to generate AI content and eventually, it is turned on by default.
Speaking On Thursday, S. Krishnan, Secretary at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), said that the government will decide its next action on the CSAM matter after reviewing Meta’s response. He also confirmed that the Muse Image feature will be reviewed by the government.
Government Seeks Response On Meta CSAM Notice
As per ANI, Krishnan said, “We will await the formal response on the notice we have issued, and thereafter we will take a view based on their response.” Last week, the government of India had sent Meta a notice related to ads being run on Instagram showing child sexual abuse-based content.
The incident came after a BBC report alleged that Meta’s recommendation algorithm had been promoting videos containing CSAM, exposing the gaps in the safeguards. Moreover, the BBC investigation had also reportedly found ads of this nature appearing on Facebook and Instagram, despite the company’s policies that explicitly prohibits nudity and sexually explicit content.
Meta’s Muse Image Feature Under Scanner
Meta recently introduced the Meta Muse Image feature that generates photos using text prompts. However, the feature immediately gained attention sparking privacy concerns over using Instagram posts and reels to generate AI content.
Now, the government has decided to review the Meta Muse Image generation feature. Krishnan said, “We will have to look at it with reference to the legal framework and also representation.”
The issue poses a bigger question, whether users knew they were letting other people use their photos in AI-generated content. Experts have always weighed in that tech giants should use an opt-in model for sensitive AI features rather than enabling them by default.
Commenting on the new AI feature, Prabhu Ram, VP-Industry Research Group, CyberMedia Research (CMR), said, “That materially changes the risk. The issue is no longer just exposure online; it is the possibility of being repurposed, remixed, and commercialised without clear consent or meaningful control. The fact that this is enabled by default makes it even more concerning, because opt-out frameworks often depend less on informed user choice and more on user inertia.”
