Amid the Centre’s crackdown on social media platforms to curb harmful content, tech giant Meta has agreed to report child sexual abuse cases and other child safety-related matters to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.
Government sources on Tuesday told ANI that ensuring the online safety of children is a fundamental requirement for any social media platform operating in India and is “non-negotiable”. “Online safety of children is a fundamental principle for any social media platform to operate in India and it is non-negotiable,” the sources said.
The sources said Meta’s decision to report child safety-related matters to law enforcement agencies marks an initial step towards strengthening safeguards for children on digital platforms.
“Meta has agreed to report child safety-related matters to the appropriate law enforcement agencies,” the sources said. “It is a first step towards making the platforms safe for children and much more needs to be done,” they added.
The government has also been engaging with other social media platforms to ensure proactive identification and removal of harmful content, the sources said. “The government remains engaged with other platforms to proactively identify and remove such content,” they said.
The sources further said that strict action would be taken against platforms that fail to adopt proactive measures for ensuring children’s safety online. “The government shall take action against platforms which do not take proactive steps for the safety of children,” the sources said.
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