Government strengthens online safety framework for children by tightening action against CSAM on social media
IT Act, 2000 and IT Rules, 2021 due-diligence obligations are being used to tighten action against child sexual abuse material on social media platforms.
- Intermediaries must observe due diligence and avoid hosting or transmitting content harmful to children, obscene, pornographic, privacy-invasive, gender-harassing, or otherwise unlawful.
- Intermediaries must remove or disable access to certain visual content within two hours after a complaint by an individual or on behalf of an individual.
- The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has issued notice to concerned social media platforms over alleged CSAM-linked advertisements.
The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology has tightened the compliance spotlight on social media platforms after reports of advertisements linked to child sexual abuse material, or CSAM, appearing online. The issue matters because India’s digital safety framework already places legal duties on intermediaries to remove harmful content, and the present response tests how quickly those duties are enforced.
What happened
The Government has taken serious note of reports alleging dissemination of advertisements linked to CSAM on social media platforms and has sought a detailed report from the concerned intermediary. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has also issued notice to concerned social media platforms.
UPSC may frame the issue around the legal duties of intermediaries, the balance between free digital expression and child protection, and the enforcement capacity of agencies under the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
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