Meta agreed to report cases linked to child sexual abuse and other child safety concerns to the appropriate law enforcement agencies in India, government sources said on Tuesday. The move comes as the Centre steps up scrutiny of social media platforms over harmful and illegal content, including child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and deepfakes.
Government sources described Meta’s decision as an important first step toward improving child safety online, while stressing that more action remains necessary.
A Meta India spokesperson confirmed that the company will share child safety matters with Indian authorities.
“Protecting children on our platforms is a priority for us, and we’re 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.
The development follows discussions between Meta and the government over measures to strengthen safeguards and curb the spread of harmful content.
Government sources said, “Meta agreed to report child safety-related matters to the appropriate law enforcement agencies.”
They added, “It is a first step towards making the platforms safe for children and much more needs to be done.”
The government is also engaging with other online platforms to ensure they proactively identify and remove harmful content.
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Online protection of children is a "fundamental principle" for any social media platform operating in India and will remain "non-negotiable".
The government said it would take action against platforms that have not taken measures to ensure sufficient safeguards for children using the internet.
This development follows increased scrutiny of Meta over its handling of content related to children’s safety. The NCPCR recently summoned the executives of Meta India in light of the inquiry being carried out on advertisements involving Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material (CSEAM).
The meeting between Meta India executives and the NCPCR took place on September 9. This followed the BBC’s Eye Report on alleged advertisements on Meta-owned platforms.
Further, the National Human Rights Commission asked the Delhi Police to investigate allegations of advertisements on Instagram containing CSAM in India and to look into whether Meta and other organizations had complied with the POCSO Act.