Meta actioned 20.21 million content items in India in September 2026; Instagram enforcement rises, Facebook declines

Meta took action against 20.21 million pieces of content across Facebook, Instagram and Threads in India in September 2026, up 5.5% from 19.15 million in August, according to its India monthly transparency report. Instagram saw the largest increase, with actioned content rising from 12.29 million to 15.12 million. In contrast, Facebook’s actioned content declined from 6.52 million to 4.58 million.

The report also noted a significant decline in proactive detection rates for bullying, harassment, and hate speech on Facebook and Instagram. Additionally, Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) orders received by Meta more than doubled, rising from 462 in August to 926 in September.

Meta describes its India-specific content enforcement figures as directional estimates based on users it predicts are located in India. The figures reflect enforcement under its platform policies and should not be confused with content restricted in response to government or court directions under Indian law.

Content actioned

Instagram actioned 7.3M spam items in September, compared with 4.1M in August, according to Meta’s report. Instagram actioned 3.2 million pieces of content under its adult nudity and sexual activity policy, down from 3.3 million in August. Facebook actioned 1.8M spam items, down from 3.8M, while Threads actioned 370,900, up from 166,700.

The counts cover actions under different policy areas rather than unique users or posts.

Grievances

Instagram received 24,904 grievance reports in September, up from 20,815 in August; Facebook received 11,923, up from 11,203; and Threads received 125, up from 51, according to Meta’s report. Meta said it provided users with tools to address 18,302 Instagram grievances, 10,903 Facebook grievances and 111 Threads grievances. Meta reported taking action on 6,602 Instagram grievances, 1,020 Facebook grievances and 14 Threads grievances.

Hacked-account reports were the largest named category on both Facebook (5,396) and Instagram (8,929). On Instagram, 7,457 reports concerned lost access to a page or group, and 7,094 were classified as other issues; on Facebook, other issues accounted for 2,668 reports, according to Meta’s report. Counts for the category “Content I appear in that I do not want displayed” are blank for all three platforms. Blank entries are not zeros: Meta’s reporting also uses “Not Available” and bounded values.

Proactive detection

For bullying and harassment, Meta’s reported proactive detection rate fell from 61.3% in August to 16.5% in September on Facebook, and from 74.5% to 13.3% on Instagram. For hate speech, the rate fell from 58.7% to 22.9% on Facebook and from 52.5% to 18.6% on Instagram. These rates do not establish what share of all harmful content Meta detected.

Grievance Appellate Committee orders

Meta reported receiving 926 Grievance Appellate Committee orders in September and complying with 926, compared with 462 received and 462 complied with in August, according to its monthly report. The report does not clarify whether Meta complied with these orders in the same month it received them.

What Meta’s transparency figures do not reveal

Meta’s monthly reports include figures on content enforcement, user grievances, and compliance with GAC orders. However, the aggregate data is limited. The reports do not indicate the total volume of harmful content on Meta’s platforms, the number of users impacted by enforcement actions, or whether all grievances were resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction.

Similarly, the number of content items actioned under Meta’s policies should not be equated with government-mandated takedowns. Restrictions under Indian law and enforcement under Meta’s Community Standards are separate categories. These limitations are important when assessing sharp changes in proactive detection rates and the rise in GAC orders, as the reported figures do not explain the reasons behind these trends.

Also read:

• Can Meta lose safe harbour for recommending content? What Indian law actually says
• Meta deploys AI tools to detect child abuse ads, says it actioned 5.3 million content items in India

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