Meta will report child abuse materials in India directly to the government

Meta will now report child abuse materials in India directly to the government

This was prompted by a BBC Eye investigation. The investigation, published in July, revealed that Instagram was hosting paid advertisements promoting such materials in India.

Following this, the Indian government ordered Meta to remove all advertisements and content promoting child abuse and obscenity.

"Protecting children on our platforms is our priority, and we are ready to cooperate with the government to ensure that those who commit these crimes are held accountable," a Meta spokesperson said. "To jointly strengthen our efforts to combat this harm, Meta will now refer child safety issues directly to the Cybercrime Portal managed by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre."

The Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, known as I4C, operates under the country's Ministry of Home Affairs.

It is currently unknown when Meta will start sending reports directly to the government and under exactly what circumstances.

Until now, Meta has stated that, in accordance with the law, it reports cases of child exploitation to the NCMEC (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children) in the US. In turn, the center forwards the relevant reports to law enforcement agencies in other countries.

Earlier, a large-scale operation to protect families and children was launched in Turkey. During the operation, individuals suspected of producing and distributing obscene materials, including child-related content, are also being specifically investigated.