X, YouTube urged to remove child sexual abuse material

India has sent notices to social media platforms X, formerly known as Twitter, YouTube, and Telegram, asking them to ensure there is no child sexual abuse material on their platforms, the government said in a Reuters report.

The companies could be stripped of their protection from legal liability if they don’t comply, the government said in a statement.

The notices, sent by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), emphasized the importance of prompt and permanent removal of child sexual abuse material on the platforms.

“If they do not act swiftly, their safe harbor under section 79 of the IT Act would be withdrawn, and consequences under the Indian law will follow,” the junior minister for information technology, Rajeev Chandrashekhar, was quoted as saying in the statement.

Chandrasekhar has been a vocal advocate for removing such content from the internet in India.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was determined “to build a safe and trusted internet under the IT rules,” the government said.

Telegram said its terms of service explicitly forbade child abuse materials.

“Telegram’s moderators actively patrol public parts of the platform and accept user reports in order to remove content that breaches our terms,” Telegram said on Saturday.

The government, in the notices, also asked companies to take measures, such as content moderation algorithms and reporting mechanisms, to prevent the dissemination of child sexual abuse material in the future.

Reuters reported in July that India had told online streamers like Netflix and Disney that their content should be independently reviewed for obscenity and violence before being shown online.