NEW DELHI:
Meta has agreed to report cases related to child sexual abuse and other child-safety concerns to the appropriate law enforcement agencies in India, government sources said.
The development comes amid increased scrutiny by the Centre of social media platforms over the circulation of harmful content involving children. Government sources said online safety of children was a fundamental requirement for social media platforms operating in India.
The move follows government engagement with social media companies over child safety and harmful content. Officials described Meta’s decision as a first step and said more measures were required to strengthen protection of children online.
Meta, which owns Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, Messenger and Threads, has faced particular scrutiny over alleged child sexual exploitative and abuse material on Instagram.
On September 9, senior Meta India executives appeared before the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) in connection with an inquiry into alleged advertisements linked to child sexual abuse on Instagram.
The Centre had earlier directed Meta to disable advertisements and content that promoted or facilitated access to child sexual exploitative and abuse material and sought an explanation from the company.
Meta had said in July that when it becomes aware of apparent child exploitation, it reports such material to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), in accordance with applicable laws.
The company has also said that in India, reports are made through NCMEC to the national cybercrime reporting portal in compliance with the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and applicable rules.
The latest development signals a move towards more direct reporting of child-safety cases to Indian law-enforcement authorities.