Why wasn’t child sexual abuse content reported to police, NCPCR asks Meta

The child rights body has extended the deadline for Meta to respond to its notice until August 6 after the company sought more time

The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has asked Meta to explain why it did not inform the police after allegedly becoming aware of child sexual abuse material being promoted on Instagram, as it is mandated to do under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, people aware of the matter said.

The statutory child rights body has extended the deadline for Meta to respond to its notice until August 6 after the company sought more time. Meta was initially required to submit its response by Monday. The notice follows a BBC Eye investigation alleging that Instagram ran paid advertisements in India promoting child sexual abuse material.

The people cited above said NCPCR’s notice seeks an explanation on whether Meta fulfilled its reporting obligations under Section 19 of the POCSO Act, which requires any person who knows an offence under the Act to report it to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or the local police.

“NCPCR has specifically asked whether Meta informed the police after becoming aware of the content. It has also questioned why authorities were not informed if, as indicated in the BBC investigation, the company knew that Instagram advertisements were directing users to Telegram channels allegedly distributing such material,” one of the persons cited above said.

The BBC Eye Investigation found advertisements containing phrases such as “rape video” and “child video” directed users to Telegram channels allegedly selling child sexual abuse material. According to the investigation, Instagram initially determined that one such advertisement flagged by the BBC did not violate its community standards before removing the advertisements, disabling accounts and blocking URLs found to be violating its policies.

If NCPCR, which took suo motu cognisance of the BBC report, is not satisfied with Meta’s response, then it may issue another notice seeking further clarifications, a second person said.

The electronics and information technology ministry on July 4 directed Meta to disable all advertisements and content promoting or facilitating access to child sexual exploitative and abuse material. The ministry said it viewed the alleged algorithmic amplification of sexually exploitative content with the “utmost seriousness” and sought immediate corrective measures. Meta submitted a report which the ministry is reviewing.

The issue was raised in Parliament. In a written reply to a question in the Lok Sabha on July 22, minister of state for electronics and IT Jitin Prasada said the government had “taken serious note” of reports alleging the dissemination of advertisements linked to child sexual abuse material on social media platforms and had sought a detailed report from the intermediary concerned.