Meta agrees to report child sexual abuse cases to law enforcement agencies: Govt

NEW DELHI, Sept 15: Meta has agreed to report cases related to child sexual abuse to appropriate law enforcement agencies, government sources said on Tuesday, as the Centre stepped up its efforts to strengthen child safety on social media platforms.

The sources said online safety of children is a “fundamental principle” for every social media platform operating in India and is “non-negotiable”. They added that the Government would take action against platforms that fail to take proactive measures to protect children from harmful content and activities.

According to the sources, Meta’s decision to report child sexual abuse cases to law enforcement agencies marks a first step towards making online platforms safer for children, though much more needs to be done.

The Government is also engaging with other online platforms to ensure they proactively identify and remove harmful and illegal content, the sources said.

The Centre has intensified scrutiny of social media platforms over harmful online material, including child sexual abuse material and deepfakes. It has also been pressing platforms to strengthen safeguards, ensure faster removal of objectionable content and improve accountability.

The Government had earlier issued a notice to Meta over its handling of such content and recently summoned the company’s global executives to India.

The sources said the Centre has made it clear that platforms operating in India must comply with Indian laws and take effective measures to protect users, particularly children, from harmful online content and activities. (Agencies)