Meta to report child safety matters directly to India’s cyber crime authorities
New Delhi, Sept 15: Meta has agreed to report child safety matters directly to India’s cyber crime authorities, a move aimed at strengthening coordination between the platform and law enforcement agencies in cases involving child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Meta will report such matters directly to the cybercrime portal managed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), according to the company.
The development comes amid heightened scrutiny of Meta in India following allegations that paid advertisements on Instagram promoted or facilitated access to child sexual abuse material.
The government has warned social media platforms that protecting children online is a non-negotiable responsibility, and that failure to take adequate proactive measures could invite action.
The Centre had earlier directed Meta to remove advertisements and other content promoting or facilitating access to child sexual exploitation and abuse material on Instagram.
The government also sought an explanation from the company over how such advertisements were allowed to appear on the platform and what safeguards were in place to prevent their recurrence.
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has also taken action over the allegations. The National Human Rights Commission also issued notices following reports of paid Instagram advertisements directing users to external platforms offering CSAM.
Meta had previously said it uses automated systems and specialist teams to detect and remove child exploitation content. The company also said in July that apparent child exploitation is reported to law enforcement through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), with reports in India being routed to the national cybercrime reporting portal under the applicable legal framework.
The latest commitment would make Meta’s reporting to the Indian cybercrime system more direct. The National Cyber Crime Reporting Portal, operated under the I4C, specifically provides a mechanism for reporting online child sexual abuse material and other sexually explicit content involving children.
According to media reports citing government sources, direct reporting would help ensure that cases involving child safety are taken up by law enforcement rather than remaining solely within platforms’ internal content moderation processes. The government has described Meta’s commitment as an initial step and said discussions with other social media platforms are continuing.
The move comes as authorities seek stronger mechanisms for identifying, removing and investigating harmful content involving children. The government has indicated that platforms that fail to take adequate proactive measures for children’s safety could face action. (BVI)
