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The authorities warned social media firms X (formerly known as Twitter), YouTube, and Telegram on Friday that they must take down content including child sex abuse from their services or risk legal action.
We have sent notices to X, Youtube and Telegram
"To make sure there is no Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) on their platforms, we have given alerts to X, Youtube, and Telegram. Rajeev Chandrasekhar, a minister of state for skill development and entrepreneurship as well as electronics and IT, said in a statement on Friday that the government is committed to creating a reliable and secure internet in accordance with IT regulations. READ MORE :- Amazon in India and globally is considered one of the best to join.
The IT Act's IT standards set out severe requirements for social media intermediaries, including that they not permit unlawful or damaging content on their platforms. They risk having their safe harbour under section 79 of the IT respond revoked and facing legal repercussions in India if they do not respond quickly.
Statement to Mint, a YouTube spokesperson said
We have a zero-tolerance policy on child sexual abuse content, a YouTube spokeswoman told Mint. We will not tolerate any type of content that puts children in risk. In order to combat child sexual abuse and exploitation online and take prompt action to remove it as soon as possible, we have made significant investments in technology and staff.
For breaches of our kid safety regulations, we terminated approximately 94,000 channels and over 2.5 million videos in Q2 2023. To offer families and children with the strongest safety available, we will keep collaborating with experts both inside and outside of YouTube.
Queries sent to Telegram and X did not immediately receive a response.
The three social media intermediaries have been warned by the ministry that any delay in complying with the notices will result in the loss of their safe harbour protection under Section 79 of the IT Act, which currently shields them from liability. The ministry stated that notices specify that non-compliance with the requirements will be deemed a breach of Rule 3(1)(b) and Rule 4(4) of the IT Rules, 2021.
The letters sent to these platforms stress the necessity of immediately and permanently removing or blocking access to any CSAM from those sites. In order to stop the spread of CSAM in the future, they also demand the installation of preventative measures including content control algorithms and reporting methods.
Some industry executives expressed surprise over the issuance of the notice
Some business leaders in the sector claimed they were shocked by the notice's release and that it did not identify any urgent compliance problems. Senior policy adviser with experience working with several Big Tech companies: "We couldn't yet determine if there is any societal body that is behind triggering this notice—which is typically the case leading up to such alerts.
The majority of tech platforms, including those included in Meity's letter from Friday, have been in frequent meetings with Meity and it is yet unknown what may have precipitated this.