On Monday, Google announced a significant policy change regarding the reporting of child sexual abuse material (CSAM). The tech giant will now report flagged content directly to Indian authorities, departing from its usual practice of routing such reports through a U.S. non-profit organization first. This decision marks a notable shift in how the company handles sensitive content in India.
Meta and Alphabet Inc’s Google have for years made such reports to the U.S.-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which then relays reports to law enforcement in the country involved.
The decision follows a similar announcement by Meta last week. Meta and Alphabet Inc’s Google have for years made such reports to the U.S.-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, which then relays reports to law enforcement in the country involved. Technology and law enforcement officials in the United States, the European Union and elsewhere have pushed platforms to speed up detection and reporting, though most countries continue to route reports through the U.S. nonprofit as the primary international clearing house.
It comes after two Indian government sources told Reuters they had, in recent weeks, pressed tech companies like Google and Microsoft to report child abuse content concerning India directly, given concerns that the existing system delays reports significantly. A Google spokesperson said the company “invests significantly to detect, deter, remove, and report child sexual abuse material,” and described the proposal as part of the company’s “ongoing discussions with the government of India. Indian officials had argued to tech platforms that the arrangement costs precious time in cases where a child may be in active danger, since reports pass through that intermediary before reaching domestic the law enforcement authorities who can act on the ground, according to two sources.
