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The Supreme Court (August 14) issued notice to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Law and Justice on an application seeking mandatory reporting of Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material(CSEAM) by social media intermediaries. 

A bench comprising Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice K Vinod Chandran issued notice in an application filed by Just Rights for Children Alliance(JRCA) and the Bachpan Bachao Andolan. It also allowed the petitioners to move an application for impleadment of the concerned intermediaries, and also to further ensure implementation of the September 23, 2024 directions in the main petition. 

The present application has been filed by the JRCA in the wake of a media report alleging that social media intermediary Instagram has carried out paid advertisements promoting CSEAM. It is urged in the application that the report raises serious concerns over compliance with the Supreme Court's earlier directions and the statutory obligations of the intermediaries. 

It may be recalled that in September 2024, the Supreme Court held that storage of child pornographic material, without deleting or without reporting the same, would indicate an intention to transmit and therefore is an offence under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.

In the judgment authored by Justice Pardiwala, the Court particularly noted that the role of social media intermediaries in checking the proliferation of child pornography is significant. It was observed that for the intermediary to claim safe harbour protection, that is, in order not to be held liable for any third-party data, it must not be involved in either initiating the transmission or the receipt of the modification of the data in any manner. 

In this backdrop, the JRCA has sought a comprehensive mechanism to ensure effective implementation of these obligations and prevent the online circulation and exploitation of children. The application foremost seeks the formulation and notification of a uniform Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for intermediaries covering detection and mandatory reporting of CSEAM, preservation of evidence and inter-agency coordination among relevant agencies.

It also seeks measures to ensure the prompt uploading of offenders' particulars to the National Database of Sexual Offenders (NDSO), timely action by law-enforcement agencies on every report received from an intermediary, and initiation of criminal proceedings against intermediaries that fail to comply with mandatory reporting obligations, in accordance with law.

JRCA has further sought the establishment of a centralised online reporting portal to facilitate reporting of CSEAM by intermediaries.

Case Details: JUST RIGHTS FOR CHILDREN ALLIANCE AND ANR.v S. HARISH AND ORS|Diary No. 41028-2026

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