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 (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 (MeitY) and the Ministry of Law and Justice. The Court also asked the petitioner to bring the concerned intermediaries on record.
The application was moved by Just Rights for Children Alliance (JRCA), referring to allegations that social media platforms were carrying advertisements connected with child sexual abuse material.
The plea seeks effective compliance with the Supreme Court’s September 2024 judgment in Just Rights for Children Alliance v. S. Harish, in which the Court had clarified the reporting obligations of intermediaries under Sections 19 and 20 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012 (POCSO Act).
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 requirement under Indian law. The plea contends that information must also be reported to the Special Juvenile Police Unit or local police as required under the POCSO framework.
The petitioner sought action against intermediaries allegedly failing to comply with these mandatory requirements and urged the Court to ensure that its earlier directions are effectively followed.
The Bench, after hearing the matter, issued notice to the Union Government. The Court further directed the petitioner to implead the concerned intermediaries in the proceedings.
The Supreme Court issued notice to the Union Government and directed that the concerned social media intermediaries be impleaded in the case, thereby taking forward the plea concerning compliance with its 2024 directions on mandatory reporting of CSEAM.
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