MC EXCLUSIVE I4C asks social media platforms to join Sahyog portal, appoint officers to report child sexual abuse material

The I4C has directed social media platforms to join Sahyog Portal

Social media platforms have been formally directed by Home Ministry-affiliated Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) to integrate with the Sahyog Portal and nominate nodal officers for real-time reporting of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

The development follows a meeting with the social media players earlier this year.

Through the I4C-developed Sahyog Portal, authorised agencies can send takedown notices to intermediaries for content deemed unlawful under the IT Act. The portal has been developed as a one-stop platform for intermediaries to report detected CSAM content.

"Reference is drawn to the judgment of the Supreme Court, which underscores the statutory responsibilities of all stakeholders, including social media intermediaries, under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO). In this regard, all social media intermediaries are requested to onboard onto the Sahyog Portal, developed by I4C...," said the communication, a copy of which has been reviewed by Moneycontrol.

Apart from the appointment of a nodal person, I4C has also called on platforms to develop APIs for integrating with the Sahyog portal for real-time CSAM reporting. Platforms have also been asked to adopt AI-based tools to proactively detect and take down of such content, submit periodic action-taken reports and best practices, run public awareness campaigns on cybercrimes affecting women and children, and regularly share updates with I4C.

This communication by I4C is seen as a point of contention for several US-based social media platforms, especially X (formerly Twitter), which in their ongoing case against the Centre at Karnataka High Court termed the Sahyog Portal as ‘censorship portal’, and informed the court that it cannot be forced to join the platform.

Read More: Government slams X for 'censorship portal' claim, defends 'Sahyog' in court

US-based platforms like Google and Meta are legally required under American law to report child sexual abuse material (CSAM) only through the National Centre for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), a US-based nonprofit.

Under an existing memorandum of understanding between NCMEC and the Indian government, these reports are passed on to India’s National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), which then forwards them to the relevant state authorities.

However, a 2024 Supreme Court ruling in India has added a new layer of compliance. The court directed that social media intermediaries must not stop at reporting to NCMEC alone, and they are also required to report CSAM directly to Indian authorities, bringing the Sahyog Portal in a key role.

As exclusively reported by Moneycontrol earlier, in a meeting on January 30, platforms pointed out to I4C that complying with the Supreme Court judgement risks violating US laws, and vice versa.

Moneycontrol has reached out to Meta, Google, Reddit, Sharechat, Snap Inc with queries on the matter, and this copy will be updated once they respond.

Child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on social media in India has become a concern, and authorities have noted a sharp rise in cases flagged by global monitoring bodies. India consistently ranks among the top countries in terms of CSAM-related reports received from tech platforms, according to data from the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and international watchdogs. The National Cybercrime Reporting Portal has also recorded a surge in complaints, leading Indian regulators to tighten oversight.