Adoption offers circulating freely on social media, particularly TikTok , are raising concerns among Beninese authorities. Behind these seemingly innocuous proposals lie illegal practices with serious consequences. The Central Authority for International Adoption is sounding the alarm and calling for increased vigilance to protect children.A new form of digital exploitation is drawing the attention of Beninese authorities. On social media, unauthorized individuals and organizations are now offering children for adoption, outside of any legal framework. Faced with this situation, the Central Authority for International Adoption in the Republic of Benin (ACAIB) has decided to break its silence.

In an official statement dated February 13, 2026, the institution alerted the public to the circulation of " fake offers to adopt children " on digital platforms, with a particular mention of TikTok . An illegal practice with serious consequences

According to details provided by ACAIB , these advertisements originate from unauthorized actors claiming to offer children for adoption, in violation of current laws. This situation, beyond its illegality, exposes children to significant risks.

The institution warns against practices that may constitute attempted fraud, but also more serious phenomena such as child trafficking and exploitation. " These practices constitute attempted fraud and seriously expose children to the risks of trafficking and exploitation ," the statement emphasizes, stressing the gravity of the threat.In a context marked by the rapid expansion of digital usage, this type of abuse finds fertile ground. The virality of content and the relative anonymity of platforms facilitate the spread of fraudulent advertisements, which are often difficult to trace.

ACAIB reiterates the legal framework

The High Court of Telangana, in a recent judgment, rejected a plea filed by a man seeking restoration of custody of a minor girl child who had been taken from his care after police registered a case alleging illegal adoption and child trafficking. The Court held that custody could not be granted where the child was procured through a process not recognised by law, and that an emotional...

https://www.livelaw.in/high-court/telangana-high-court/telangana-high-court-child-custody-illegal-adoption-521490

An elderly couple in Ajmer has approached the police, asking to be freed from the responsibility of their adopted child. They requested that the child be sent to the Child Welfare Committee, Childline, or any other government care institution.

Following their request, the police asked the couple to produce documents related to the adoption and later sent them back. The police then sought guidance from the district Child Protection Committee on how to proceed in the matter.

The committee informed the police that the child had been adopted from a relative and that the legal adoption process had not been followed. In view of the child’s future, the committee said the child cannot be taken back or handed over to any institution at this stage.

Parents accuse child

ASI Bharti of Civil Lines police station stated that on Wednesday evening, the elderly couple came. They said that about 2 years ago, they had adopted a child from their relative.

Ruling that illegal adoption cannot be validated under any circumstances, the Telangana High Court has dismissed a writ petition seeking the return of a two-year-old girl to a couple who had adopted the child without following due legal adoption procedures.

Justice T Madhavi Devi’s judgment of January 28, while acknowledging the couple’s claim that the child was being well taken care of and has already developed a bond with them in the last two years, held that bypassing official procedures to allow an “out-of-turn” adoption of the child as pleaded would “amount to and lead to a prescription for illegal adoptions…and encourage child trafficking in the country.”

The petitioner, Muthineni Venakanna, and wife, unable to have biological children, tried for legal adoption, but their application has been pending for several years. Meanwhile, in May 2023, they came to know of a one-month-old girl available for adoption through an intermediary named Nakka Yadagiri. The couple adopted the girl as their own, although illegally, and had been taking good care of her since then.

The petitioner contended that Nakka Yadagiri was booked on charges of child trafficking, and the child in the petitioner’s custody was detained in June 2025 and forcibly taken away by authorities without any notice and lodged in a children’s home in Nalgonda town. The names of the petitioner and his wife have also been added as accused in the FIR. They argued that the child was suffering severe mental agony after being separated from them, and pleaded with the court to return the child to them for adoption legally.

The Government Pleader for Women Development and Child Welfare submitted that Yadagiri was involved in child trafficking and was involved in the sale of several children. She further submitted that there were established procedures through the Central Adoption Resource Authority (CARA) for legal adoption and that the petitioner, having applied, should wait for their turn.

Washington — Hundreds of American families and the children they're in the process of adopting from abroad are in a wait-and-see mode after President Trump's latest travel ban and visa freeze covering dozens of countries — unlike past travel bans — made no blanket exceptions for international adoption visas, advocacy groups and bipartisan lawmakers say.

The State Department circulated new guidance Wednesday saying children being adopted by U.S. citizens may qualify for an exception under the National Interest Exception on a "case-by-case" basis. The department "will consider such requests on a priority basis," according to guidance obtained by CBS News.

The new guidance, adoption groups and families say, is a step in the right direction, but they're also asking for adoptions to be exempt automatically. 

"Intercountry adoption remains a high priority for the administration, and adoption-related visas will continue to be processed as expeditiously as possible," the not-yet-released State Department guidance reads. "Additionally, because overall visa volumes have decreased following the [visa freeze], many consular offices now have increased capacity to assist with adoption cases."

Still, members of Congress from both parties who sit on the Congressional Coalition on Adoption Caucus and adoption nonprofit groups are urging the administration to make categorical exemptions for adoptions, rather than case-by-case allowances. 

Anantapur: An embarrassing situation arose at the Government General Hospital (GGH) and the Two Town police in Anantapur on Wednesday after rumours spread about a newborn baby going missing, only for police to later find that the infant had been unofficially given away by the family.

According to sources, Shiva Lakshmi and her husband Sunil of Kakkalapalli in Anantapur rural mandal already have three children. Lakshmi delivered her fourth child, a baby girl, at GGH on January 24, and both mother and child were admitted to the general labour ward.

On Wednesday, reports circulated that the four-day-old baby had gone missing from the ward, prompting hospital authorities to alert the Two Town police. Police launched a search, alerting Anantapur headquarters and nearby police stations.

During the investigation, police noticed inconsistencies in the statements of the parents. There were also rumours that the baby had been taken away by relatives, including the grandmother, due to family differences.

Origional Text[ Sinds 2023 maakten 241 mensen melding van mogelijke onregelmatigheden bij het Vlaams centrum voor adoptie. Na twee jaar gaan in 2026 de onderzoeken daarnaar van start. Betrokkenen zijn kritisch voor de werkwijze van de overheid: ‘Wij worden nauwelijks op de hoogte gehouden.’

Dit artikel is geschreven doorSimon Tibo

is journalist bij De Morgen

Gepubliceerd op 7 januari 2026, 03:00

Bewaren

Singapore is aware of the allegations concerning babies being trafficked from Indonesia into the country for adoption and the government is working closely with Indonesian authorities to review the matter.

The Singapore government is working closely with Indonesian authorities to review allegations concerning babies being trafficked from Indonesia for adoption. (File photo: iStock)

Darcel Al Anthony

Backed by 120 co-signatories from MPs and uninterrupted lobbying of the government, the bill introduced by MP Karine Lebon was adopted this Tuesday afternoon, January 20, 2026, in the Social Affairs Committee (Photo: sly/www.imazpress.com)

"This is a major first step towards the recognition and financial compensation of survivors and their families. The adoption of the text will have to be confirmed next week in the National Assembly chamber," the MP emphasizes. 

Following numerous hearings involving former miners who were relocated, historians, experts, institutions and political figures, the initial text was able to evolve favorably towards a draft of "compromise, without giving up the essentials: truth, dignity, rights".

"The hard work of the survivors and associations has finally paid off. An immense joy, commensurate with the decades of silence. Because these children, torn from Reunion Island and then sent to mainland France, suffered uprooting, the breaking of family ties, brutal placements, sometimes mistreatment, exploitation, humiliation and stigmatization. Many grew up far from their bearings and still bear the social, psychological and family consequences of this policy today," the elected official recalls.

"This adoption in committee is proof that perseverance can move the Republic forward. We are not erasing the wounds, but we are finally opening a path to justice and reparation," says Karine Lebon.

Criticizing Bufdir for stopping adoptions – important not to overreact

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Victoria Asne Kinsella

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