Government says social media platforms must follow SOPs on child abuse material

Social media platforms are expected to strictly follow prescribed standard operating procedures (SOPs) while dealing with child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including timely reporting, coordination with law enforcement agencies and working through designated bodies such as the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), according to Aabhas Sharma’s TOI report. The Times of India reported.

According to the report, government officials said compliance with these procedures is a key responsibility for intermediaries operating in India and that any lapses would invite action under the applicable legal framework.

The remarks come as the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) examines Meta’s response to a government notice over advertisements on Instagram that allegedly promoted or facilitated access to CSAM, the report said.


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The Centre had issued the notice after reports highlighted such advertisements on Instagram, seeking an explanation from Meta on its ad review systems, content moderation processes and safeguards, according to TOI.

IT Secretary S Krishnan said Meta’s reply had been received and that the next course of action would be decided after it is assessed, the newspaper reported.

Officials told TOI that the government’s focus remains on whether the platform complied with its obligations for detecting, reporting and acting against such material.

With inputs from TOI