The presence of paid content linked to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on Instagram has brought the Indian government and Mark Zuckerberg’s Meta into a broader discussion on how global social media platforms can strengthen safeguards while complying with Indian law, with officials saying the dialogue between the social media giant and the Centre will continue.
“The important thing is to understand what happened, what action was taken and how the recurrence of such content is being addressed.
“On CSAM, the position is very clear and unequivocal – if this kind of unlawful content is appearing on the platform, safe harbour cannot be taken for granted,” a government official told NDTV. Meta has told the government it has acted on these concerns. The broader regulatory approach, officials said, should not be viewed simply through the lens of “government censorship”. Officials said the immediate objective was to understand the issues around CSAM and ensure that action is taken against such material. “Safe harbour, where the requirements of the law are not met, can lead to consequences, including loss of that protection,” the official said, adding that “ultimately, whether safe harbour applies in a particular case will be for the courts to decide. Officials stressed that government powers are exercised lawfully and said Section 69A of the IT Act has been used sparingly. Earlier reporting noted: No safe harbour in case of child sexual abuse content, says govt in ‘hard talk’ with Meta: Report The government has reportedly expressed strong objection to child sexual abuse material (CSAM) in its talks with Meta and the communication has led to action and increased sensitivity on the issue. Earlier reporting noted: The government had a “hard talk” with Meta on the issue and has clarified that circulation of CSAM content is a clear violation and there is no safe harbour in such cases, according to a report by news agency PTI. Earlier reporting noted: Who said what Who said what
