India’s apex child rights body, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), has summoned Meta India managing director Arun Srinivas on September 9 as part of its enquiry into Instagram hosting advertisements related to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on the platform, as per a BBC Eye investigation news report.
Meta replied to NCPCR in a week’s time. As reported by HT on July 27 , NCPCR sought a report from Meta on why the company did not inform the police after allegedly becoming aware of CSAM being promoted on Instagram, as required under under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (Pocso) Act. Section 19 of the Pocso Act requires any person who has knowledge of an offence under the Act to report it to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or the local police.
Instagram displayed advertisements containing phrases such as “rape video” and “child video” that directed users to Telegram channels allegedly selling child sexual abuse material, according to the BBC report. The report said after it flagged one advertisement to Instagram, the platform initially responded that the ad did not violate its community standards. Following the BBC’s findings, Meta removed several advertisements, disabled multiple accounts and blocked URLs found to be in violation of its policies, the report said.
The commission is consulting MeitY, DoT, platforms and civil society, with age verification and privacy among the key issues, HT reported on August 21. Separately, NCPCR is also in the process of drafting a uniform voluntary code of conduct for social media platforms to strengthen online safeguards for children. The guidelines are expected to cover age-appropriate access, harmful content, recommendation algorithms and online safety, while focusing on safer use rather than restricting children’s access altogether.
