NEW DELHI: The Ministry of Electronics and IT has issued notices to social media intermediaries X, Youtube and Telegram, asking them to remove child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from their platforms on the Indian internet.
The government also warned that any delay in complying with the notices will result in the withdrawal of their safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act, which currently shields them from legal liability.
“We have sent notices to X, Youtube and Telegram to ensure there are no child sexual abuse materials that exist on their platforms,” said Rajeev Chandrasekhar, minister of state Electronics & IT.
The minister further explained that the rules under the Information Technology Act lay down strict expectations from social media intermediaries that they should not allow criminal or harmful posts on their platforms. “If they do not act swiftly, their safe harbour under section 79 of the IT Act would be withdrawn and consequences under the Indian law will follow,” said the minister.
The government also asked them to implement proactive measures, such as content moderation algorithms and reporting mechanisms, to prevent the dissemination of CSAM in the future. The Information Technology (IT) Act, of 2000, provides the legal framework for addressing pornographic content, including child sexual abuse material. Sections 66E, 67, 67A, and 67B of the IT Act impose stringent penalties and fines for the online transmission of obscene or pornographic content.