No safe harbour in case of child sexual abuse content, says govt in ‘hard talk’ with Meta: Report
The government had a “hard talk” with Meta on child sexual abuse material and has clarified that circulation of such content is a clear violation.
The government has expressed strong opposition to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) during its talks with Meta, according to a report by PTI. The government has clarified that there is no safe harbour for such content and that circulation of CSAM is a clear violation. Safe-harbour protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act only applies to intermediaries hosting third-party content on their platforms.
The government aims to ensure that Indian laws and norms are followed without censoring or restricting coverage. IT ministry sources explained to Meta that platforms have a responsibility to address social media harms and strike the right balance. Meta also provided clarification on its algorithms and systems during the talks. The WhatsApp username issue is under examination, not limited to the platform alone.
The law requires that synthetically generated content must be labeled. Concerns over protection of children from online sexual exploitation were raised during a recent Supreme Court hearing, prompting the government to seek a response. The court deemed the issues a matter of "serious concern" and merited its "full and anxious consideration."
The Centre has warned Meta that there is no safe harbour if CSAM violates the law, marking the second such warning to the company.
Written by urgent.news from Hindustan Times's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
