On Thursday, the Supreme Court instructed the Centre to outline the measures being implemented to hold social media intermediaries accountable for the reporting and removal of child sexual exploitation and abuse material (CSEAM). The court emphasized the need for clarity on the precautions that will be enforced should these platforms fail to comply with these obligations.
Advocate Bhuwan Ribhu appearing for the petitioner informed the court that despite the judgment passed two years ago, there is hardly any enforcement of the court’s direction by the Indian authorities. This compliance includes not only removal of child pornographic content but also making an immediate report of such content to the concerned police units in the manner specified under the Pocso Act and the accompanying Rules, the judgment had held. The JRCA sought a comprehensive mechanism to ensure effective implementation of obligations of social media platforms and prevent the online circulation and exploitation of children. It sought a uniform SOP for intermediaries covering detection and mandatory reporting of CSEAM, preservation of evidence and inter-agency coordination among relevant agencies.
The court was hearing a petition filed by Just Rights for Children Alliance (JRCA) that sought compliance of the 2024 judgment and a uniform standard operating procedure (SOP) to be framed to ensure timely reporting by intermediaries. On August 14, the court directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) and the ministry of law and justice to file a response. The court said that its judgment passed on September 23, 2024 was very clear that social media intermediaries have a duty to report cases of child abuse and exploitation to the local authorities under Protection of Children against Sexual Offences Act (Pocso).
The court said, “The counter affidavit should also indicate, in so many words, what precautions the government would be taking in future to prevent lapses on part of the social media intermediaries.
