Child Safety / Meta to Report Child Sexual Abuse in India amid CSAM Scrutiny

New Delhi, Sept 15: Under mounting pressure to curb harmful online content, the Indian government has secured a key commitment from Meta, which will now directly report child safety and abuse cases to law enforcement agencies in India.

The move comes amid heightened scrutiny of Meta following allegations that child sexual abuse material (CSAM) was circulated and promoted through advertisements on Instagram.

Government sources said, “The online safety of children is a fundamental principle for every social media platform operating in India and remains non‑negotiable.”

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Officials described Meta’s commitment as a first step toward strengthening safeguards for children on social media.

They noted that platforms can be misused to circulate CSAM and other forms of exploitation, and reporting such cases to authorities ensures incidents are not handled solely through internal moderation systems.

The Centre emphasized that more needs to be done and confirmed ongoing discussions with other platforms to proactively identify and remove harmful content. It also warned that action could be taken against companies failing to adopt adequate measures to protect children online.

Globally, social media platforms face growing scrutiny over risks to children, including exposure to sexual exploitation, harmful content, and online abuse. In India, platforms are governed by the Information Technology Act and the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which mandate due diligence obligations.

Adding to concerns, the Tech Transparency Project reported that Meta ran over 300 ads featuring AI‑generated CSAM this year, including manipulated images of real children on Facebook and Instagram.

(IANS)