Meta Platforms Inc. and Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) Reporting

Meta Platforms Inc., the parent company of Instagram and Facebook, has announced its commitment to improve the reporting of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) by sharing reports with Indian law enforcement agencies, in addition to the U.S.-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC).

Background

• Indian agencies have had access to CSAM reports from U.S.-based tech companies since a 2019 MoU between the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and NCMEC.
• Meta will now directly share CSAM reports with Indian agencies.

Current Statistics and Efforts

• As of March 31, 2024, over 69.05 lakh Cyber Tip-line reports have been shared with States/UTs in India.
• Meta emphasized its priority in protecting children on its platforms and its commitment to working with the government.
• Meta will report child safety matters directly to the Cybercrime portal managed by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), under the Union Home Ministry.

Recent Scrutiny and Measures

• Meta has faced scrutiny from the Union government and the National Commission For Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) regarding CSAM appearing in ads on Instagram and Facebook.
• The company screens all ads but acknowledges that some malicious actors bypass these measures.
• The Centre and NCPCR have conducted multiple meetings with Meta, and the NCPCR has initiated an investigation following initial correspondence with the company.