Meta, Google & others commit to stepping up measures against sexual assault videos, child porn

New Delhi: Social media platforms have resolved to work on ways to prevent circulation of explicit videos of sexual assault, violence and child pornography, in consultation with a Supreme Court-appointed expert committee.

The commitments include deploying automated tools to disable dissemination of child pornography (CP) and rape and gangrape videos (RGP videos), providing links for reporting such imagery, and preserving the objectionable content to assist law enforcement agencies.
The SC had set up the committee in October 2017 following a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by an NGO — Prajwala — seeking directions to the central government to institutionalise a mechanism to stop circulation of CP and RGP videos.

The panel held multiple rounds of discussions with content hosting platforms such as WhatsApp, Meta and Google, among others, that got concluded in June this year, following which it submitted a report to the SC.

The panel was chaired by the additional secretary of the ministry of electronics and information technology, and comprised the director general of CERT-In (Computer Emergency Response Team), joint secretary from the home ministry and group coordinator (cyber laws) of the IT ministry.

The lawyer for Prajwala, Aparna Bhat, representatives of the intermediaries (companies) and advocate N.S. Nappinai, who was appointed as amicus curiae, were also part of the committee.

Following the submission of the panel’s report, an SC bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Vikram Nath heard and disposed of the matter on 1 August, observing that the committee had resolved substantial issues unanimously.

However, there was lack of consensus on some issues, the court noted, adding that these involved a lot of technicalities and said that it could not monitor the matter any longer.

Disposing of Prajwala’s petition, the court said that any aggrieved party was at liberty to approach the government.

In case the issues remained unresolved, the parties could move the court again, the bench stated.

The deliberations between the social media companies and the committee have led to the creation of a portal, operated by the home ministry, where complaints on CP/RGR imagery can be lodged.