SC seeks Centre’s reply on social media lapses over child abuse reporting

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the Centre's response to allegations that social media platforms are not reporting child sexual abuse material to Indian authorities as required under the POCSO Act. The court asked the Ministries of Electronics and Information Technology and Law and Justice to file counter-affidavits two weeks before the next hearing on September 24.

India Today reports that the application alleges social media companies report such cases to the US-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) instead of the Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police. Separate petitions also seek a uniform standard operating procedure for detecting and reporting child sexual exploitation and abuse material, and a centralised online mechanism to share digital evidence with Indian law enforcement.

In a related matter, Hindustan Times reports the same bench issued notices to the Centre, states, and platforms including Meta and X on a PIL seeking to stop police from posting content that reveals accused persons' identities or depicts them in a dehumanising manner. The petition seeks guidelines to prevent such posts and a mechanism for prompt removal of existing content.