The Supreme Court has sought the Union Government’s response to a plea seeking strict implementation of its 2024 directions requiring social media intermediaries to report Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material, or CSEAM, to the police.
A Bench of Justice J.B. Pardiwala and Justice K. Vinod Chandran issued notice to the Centre through the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Law and Justice. The Court also directed the petitioner to bring the concerned social media intermediaries on record in the proceedings.
Plea Seeks Enforcement of 2024 Supreme Court Directions
The application was moved by the Just Rights for Children Alliance, which referred to allegations that social media platforms were carrying advertisements connected with child sexual abuse material.
The plea seeks compliance with the Supreme Court’s September 2024 judgment in Just Rights for Children Alliance v. S. Harish. According to the material placed before the Court, the earlier judgment had clarified the reporting obligations of intermediaries under Sections 19 and 20 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012.
The petitioner has urged the Court to ensure that its previous directions are effectively followed and has sought action against intermediaries allegedly failing to comply with mandatory reporting requirements.
Reporting to US-Based Centre Alone Questioned
According to the petitioner, reporting such material only to the US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children would not, by itself, satisfy the reporting requirements under Indian law.
The plea contends that information relating to such material must also be reported to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or the local police as required under the POCSO framework.
The application therefore focuses on whether social media intermediaries are fully complying with reporting duties imposed under Indian law rather than limiting reports to an overseas organisation.
The petition also seeks closer implementation of the Supreme Court’s earlier directions concerning how intermediaries should respond when they encounter child sexual exploitation and abuse material on their platforms.
Social Media Intermediaries to Be Added to Proceedings
After hearing the matter, the Supreme Court issued notice to the Union Government and asked the petitioner to implead the concerned intermediaries in the case.
The direction means the social media platforms concerned will be brought into the proceedings as the Court considers the plea over compliance with its 2024 directions.
The case centres on the mandatory reporting obligations of online intermediaries and whether existing practices adequately meet the requirements set out under the POCSO Act and the Supreme Court’s earlier judgment.
The proceedings will now continue with the Centre’s response and the participation of the intermediaries concerned, as the Court examines the plea seeking stronger enforcement of mandatory reporting requirements for CSEAM.
