Meta agrees to report child-safety matters directly to Indian authorities
Until Now, It Routed Such Reports Through US-Based Agency
Meta has announced it will report child-safety matters directly to India's national cybercrime portal, as part of efforts to combat allegations of paid advertisements linked to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) appearing on its Instagram platform. This change comes after mounting government scrutiny over the issue, with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the home ministry managing the new reporting route.
The Indian government urged for more action, emphasizing that the online safety of children is non-negotiable for any social media platform operating in India.
However, the commitment does not end the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) inquiry. Meta India's managing director and country head is expected to appear before the commission on September 16, following an earlier absence due to urgent reasons. The NCPCR took suo moto cognisance of a BBC Eye report alleging that Instagram approved advertisements directing users to Telegram channels where CSAM was sold.
Meta has disabled around 1.6 lakh accounts in India for child-safety policy violations. The government is also pushing other platforms to proactively detect, report, and remove such material. While the specifics of when direct reporting will commence, which incidents Meta will report, and how swiftly authorities will be alerted have not been disclosed. Additionally, the NCPCR summoned the vice-president of Capgemini, a company operating a day care centre in Bengaluru, over allegations of child abuse.
Written by urgent.news from Times of India's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
