India tells X, YouTube, Telegram to remove any child sexual abuse material
India tells X, YouTube, Telegram to remove any child sexual abuse ... Reuters
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India Sends Notices to Social Media Platforms to Remove Child Sexual Abuse Material
MUMBAI, Oct 7 (Reuters) – India has sent notices to social media platforms X, formerly known as Twitter, YouTube (GOOGL.O) and Telegram asking them to ensure there is no child sexual abuse material on their platforms, the government said on Friday.
The companies could be stripped of their protection from legal liability if they don’t comply, the government said in a statement.
The notices, sent by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), emphasised the importance of prompt and permanent removal of any child sexual abuse material on the platforms.
Consequences for Non-Compliance
“If they do not act swiftly, their safe harbour under section 79 of the IT Act would be withdrawn and consequences under the Indian law will follow,” the junior minister for information technology, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, was quoted as saying in the statement.
Chandrasekhar has been a vocal advocate for removing such content from the internet in India and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was determined “to build a safe and trusted internet under the IT rules”, the government said.
Platform Responses
Telegram said child abuse materials were explicitly forbidden by its terms of service.
“Telegram’s moderators actively patrol public parts of the platform and accept user reports in order to remove content that breaches our terms,” Telegram said on Saturday.
Representatives for X and Google, which owns YouTube, did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Measures to Prevent Future Dissemination
The government, in the notices, also asked companies to take measures, such as content moderation algorithms and reporting mechanisms, to prevent the dissemination of child sexual abuse material in the future.
Previous Actions by India
Reuters reuters.com
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