MeitY asks social media platforms for report on tackling child sexual abuse material

U.S.-based platforms face a legal dilemma, as Indian and U.S. laws mandate conflicting reporting requirements for CSAM content.

The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has asked social media platforms to submit a status-cum-action taken report on tackling child sexual abuse material (CSAM) within two weeks, sources have told Moneycontrol.

The directive was issued in a meeting on February 19, which was attended by representatives from Meta, Google, and other social media firms along with officials from the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).

According to sources, the government informed platforms about its in-the-works Sahyog platform, a system designed to enable direct reporting of CSAM content to local law enforcement authorities.

The report submitted to MeitY by social media platforms will be forwarded to NHRC, which, in turn, will present its findings to a parliamentary committee for further deliberations.

However, as Moneycontrol has reported, US-based social media platforms are caught in a legal bind.

Under American law, these companies are required to report CSAM content exclusively through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), a US-based NGO.

The process is governed by a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between NCMEC and India's National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), under which NCMEC forwards flagged content to Indian authorities.

The situation has grown more complex following a 2024 Supreme Court ruling that mandates social media intermediaries not only report CSAM cases to NCMEC but also directly to local police or the Special Juvenile Police Unit (SJPU) under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

Platforms have raised concerns that complying with this Indian requirement could put them in conflict with US laws.

The February 19 meeting follows discussion held on January 30 by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C), where officials and platform representatives debated the legal conflict and possible solutions.

During that meeting, platforms reportedly pointed out that a resolution might require formal agreements between Indian authorities and NCMEC to allow for a legally compliant reporting mechanism.

Officials at both meetings explored the idea of installing APIs at the platform level, connecting directly with the Sahyog system to facilitate CSAM reporting. However, industry executives remain cautious, awaiting clearer guidance on how to balance Indian and US legal obligations.