Govt seeks expedited development of AI tool to detect child sexual abuse material online

The government on Tuesday sought expedited development of an artificial intelligence (AI)-based tool to proactively detect Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material (CSEAM) circulating on the internet.

The issue came up for discussion during Union Minister for Women and Child Development Annpurna Devi's visit to the office of the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) here.

The minister also stressed that all complaints received by the child rights panel should be handled sensitively, responsibly and expeditiously.


NCPCR Chairperson Valeti Premchand apprised the minister of the commission's efforts to develop social media guidelines for technology companies.

The minister was also apprised that the NCPCR, in collaboration with the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), is working to develop an AI-based tool to proactively detect CSEAM circulating on the internet.

"The minister expressed that both initiatives should be implemented expeditiously, as both areas are very important and deserve immediate attention," the ministry said in a statement.

Last month, the NCPCR summoned Meta India executives twice in connection with its inquiry into alleged advertisements related to CSEAM on the platform.

Meta, which owns Facebook and Instagram, has agreed to report child safety-related matters directly to the cybercrime portal managed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).

The government has been pushing social media platforms to strengthen safeguards and greater accountability amid a crackdown on child sexual abuse material and other harmful content online.