The Supreme Court has given the Union government a final opportunity to explain what steps it has taken to prevent the spread of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on social media platforms. The bench of Justices J.B. Pardiwala and Vinod K. Chandran directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Law Ministry to submit a detailed response.
The matter arises from a petition filed by the child welfare organisation Just Rights for Children Alliance, seeking stronger measures to stop the circulation of such content. The court noted that on August 14 it had already asked the two ministries to file their replies, but no response had been submitted so far.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Nataraj, appearing for the Centre, told the court that the government was treating the issue seriously. He said notices had been issued to an entity involved in violations and legal action had been initiated.
The petitioner argued that the Supreme Court had earlier directed that whenever CSAM is found circulating online, an immediate complaint must be made to local police under the POCSO law, but several social media companies do not comply. It was also contended that such content is promoted on Instagram for money and then sold through Telegram, and that Meta, the parent company of Facebook, alerted the US government but did not share information with India’s child protection wing or local police as required under Indian law.
In its order, the bench sought clarity on the actions taken so far, the steps to implement the Supreme Court’s 2024 directions, and the preventive measures adopted to stop rule violations by social media platforms. The court said the ministries must file a comprehensive reply, treating it as the final chance.
