Meta to report child sexual abuse to Indian law enforcement

The decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of Meta in India over the alleged circulation and promotion of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through advertisements on Instagram.

New Delhi: As the government steps up engagement with social media platforms over harmful content online, US-based technology giant Meta has agreed to report matters related to child sexual abuse and safety to appropriate law enforcement agencies in India.

The decision comes amid heightened scrutiny of Meta in India over the alleged circulation and promotion of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) through advertisements on Instagram.

The Centre said the online safety of children is a fundamental principle for every social media platform operating in India and remains non-negotiable, as per government sources.

One tap — then press “Add” on Google

Moreover, the commitment by the technology firm is being seen as a first step towards strengthening safeguards for children on social media platforms, they added.

Social media platforms can be used to circulate or facilitate access to CSAM and other forms of child exploitation.

Reporting such cases to law enforcement agencies would help ensure that incidents are not dealt with solely through platforms’ internal content-moderation systems.

In addition, the government stressed that more needs to be done and that discussions are continuing with other social media platforms to proactively identify and remove harmful content. It has also warned that action could be taken against platforms that fail to adopt adequate proactive measures to protect children online.

The issue comes amid growing global scrutiny of social media platforms over risks to children, including exposure to sexual exploitation, harmful content and online abuse.

In India, social media platforms are governed by the Information Technology Act and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which prescribe due-diligence obligations for intermediaries.

Additionally, Meta ran more than 300 ads featuring AI-generated child sexual abuse material, according to an investigation. Its Facebook and Instagram platforms carried paid advertisements featuring child sexual abuse material (CSAM) this year, including AI-manipulated images of real children, as per the Tech Transparency Project (TTP).