Meta Agrees To Report CSAM Cases To Indian Authorities Amid Govt Scrutiny

Meta, a leading social media company, has agreed to report cases of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) to Indian authorities as the government intensifies pressure on online platforms to enhance child safety measures. This move, reported by PTI, comes as the Center emphasizes child online safety as a "fundamental principle" and non-negotiable requirement.

The government is in dialogue with various platforms to proactively identify, remove, and report harmful content. The government warns of consequences for platforms that fail to implement adequate safety measures. This development stems from months of regulatory scrutiny, particularly revolving around Instagram's association with CSAM.

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) is investigating allegations of paid advertisements on Instagram promoting child sexual exploitation and abuse material. Meta removed violating advertisements and disabled associated accounts following the allegations, but acknowledged that no review system can catch every violation.

The NCPCR initiated a formal inquiry while the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) sought reports from government agencies and the Delhi Police on the allegations, including the adherence to mandatory reporting obligations under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. Earlier this year, the government held multiple rounds of discussions with Meta over CSAM, deepfakes, unlabelled AI-generated content, and recommendation algorithms, requesting stronger CSAM detection, increased human oversight, and improved safeguards for content in Indian languages and local contexts.

The scrutiny also extended beyond CSAM, with the company facing other content moderation-related issues. In July, a video posted by Prime Minister Narendra Modi was temporarily restricted by Facebook, leading to Meta's apology due to an error in its AI-powered content moderation systems. Meta recently settled a lawsuit worth up to $18 billion in the US related to alleged harms to children and teenagers on Facebook and Instagram, agreeing to implement various safeguards.

India is considering similar protections for its users, with several states exploring restrictions on children's access to social platforms.