Remove child sexual abuse material from internet, social media giants told
New Delhi: In a bid to emphasise the importance of prompt and permanent removal or disabling of access to any child sexual abuse material or CSAM, the government on Friday warned social media intermediaries such as X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Telegram to remove such abuse material from their platforms in India.
Issuing an order, the Ministry of electronics and information technology (Meity) said that it has issued notices to social media intermediaries X, Youtube and Telegram, warning them to remove child sexual abuse material from their platforms on the Indian Internet. The move of the government aims to permanently remove such material from their respective platforms.
“The notices served to these platforms emphasise the importance of prompt and permanent removal or disabling of access to any CSAM on their platforms. They also call for the implementation of proactive measures, such as content moderation algorithms and reporting mechanisms, to prevent the dissemination of CSAM in the future,” the ministry said.
The ministry has also warned these above-mentioned social media intermediaries that any delay in complying with the notices will result in the withdrawal of their safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act, which currently shields them from legal liability. “We have sent notices to X, Youtube and Telegram to ensure there are no child sexual abuse material that exist on their platforms,” said IT Minister of state Rajeev Chandrasekhar.
As per the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, it provides the legal framework for addressing pornographic content, including CSAM. Sections 66E, 67, 67A, and 67B of the IT Act impose stringent penalties and fines for the online transmission of obscene or pornographic content.
“The government is determined to build a safe and trusted Internet under the IT rules. The IT rules under the IT Act lays down strict expectations from social media intermediaries that they should not allow criminal or harmful posts on their platforms. If they do not act swiftly, their safe harbour under section 79 of the IT Act would be withdrawn and consequences under the Indian law will follow,” Chandrasekhar added.
