The government is determined to build a safe and trusted internet under the IT rules...
Digital Desk: The Center on Friday sent letters to social media intermediaries X, Youtube, and Telegram asking them to remove content in India that contains child sex abuse.
Rajiv Chandrasekhar, the minister of state for electronics and IT, claimed that social media platforms' "safe harbor under section 79 of the IT Act would be withdrawn" if they do not take immediate action. This implies that they can directly be prosecuted under the applicable rules and laws even though the content may not have been uploaded by them.
"The notices sent to these platforms emphasize the significance of the timely and permanent removal of any CSAM (child sexual abuse material) on their platforms or the blocking of access to it. To stop the spread of CSAM in the future, they also demand the deployment of preventative measures including content moderation algorithms and reporting procedures," according to a statement from the ministry.
Notably, the Information Technology (IT) Act, of 2000, establishes the legal foundation for dealing with pornographic information, particularly content that depicts child sexual assault. The IT Act's sections 66E, 67, 67A, and 67B serves severe fines and penalties for the online transmission of pornographic or lewd material.
Rajeev Chandrasekhar stated that the government is "determined to build a safe and trusted internet under the IT rules."
"The IT Act's rules place strict requirements on social media intermediaries, such as not allowing unlawful or harmful content on their platforms," he stated in a statement.
India was among the top nations in April of this year asking X to remove content related to abuse or harassment, child sexual exploitation, hacked materials, hateful conduct, impersonation, non-consensual nudity, violent attack perpetrators, private information, promoting suicide or self-harm, sensitive media, terrorism/violent extremism, and violence. The other countries were Germany, France, and Japan.
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