Meta will report child safety matters directly to India’s cybercrime portal as authorities intensify scrutiny of social media platforms over alleged child sexual exploitation content.
Meta has agreed to report child sexual abuse cases to law enforcement agencies amid the Centre’s crackdown on social media platforms that fail to ensure the safety of children, officials have said. Officials had previously established that child safety is a fundamental principle for any social media firm to operate in India and is non-negotiable.
Meta to report child safety matters to law enforcement
In a new step towards increased safety for children on social media, Meta will report all child safety matters to law enforcement agencies. Agencies have further revealed that the Centre has been continuously in talks with other platforms to identify and remove such content. Action will be taken against any platform that does not take proactive steps to ensure the safety of children.
A Meta spokesperson further said that protecting children on its platforms is a priority for the company.
“We are committed to working with the government to ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are held responsible. To collectively strengthen our efforts to combat this harm, Meta will now report child safety matters directly to the cybercrime portal managed by I4C,” the spokesperson said.
Meta faces scrutiny over alleged CSEAM advertisements
Meta representatives in India were summoned by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) on September 1 in connection with an investigation into alleged advertisements related to child sexual exploitation and abuse.
At the time, the NCPCR had taken up a report by BBC Eye that exposed alleged CSEAM advertisements on Meta-owned platforms. The commission had further issued a notice in July seeking an explanation of the allegations.
Meta had then submitted a response to the commission a week later. Following this, the NCPCR decided to launch a probe to ascertain the facts and circumstances surrounding the matter. It summoned the MD and head of Meta India to provide more information on the allegations, as well as the company’s formal response.
The National Human Rights Commission has also ordered a comprehensive probe into allegations that paid advertisements on Meta-owned Instagram promoted CSEAM in India. The NHRC had tasked the police with monitoring Meta and similar platforms to check whether they were complying with mandatory reporting obligations under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
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