India Requests Social Media Platforms to Remove Any Offensive Material Against Children

The Indian government announced yesterday, Friday, that it has sent notices to social media platforms "X" (formerly Twitter), "YouTube" owned by Google, and "Telegram," asking them to ensure that there is no content on their platforms containing child sexual exploitation. The government added in a statement that companies that do not comply may lose their protection from legal liability. The notices sent by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology emphasized the importance of the immediate and permanent removal of any materials containing child sexual exploitation on the platforms. It was reported that the Minister of State for Information Technology, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, stated in the announcement, "If they do not act quickly, their safe harbor under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act will be revoked, and there will be consequences under Indian law." The platform "Telegram" stated that materials containing child sexual exploitation are explicitly prohibited under its terms of service. Representatives from "X" and "Google," the owner of "YouTube," have not yet responded to requests for comments.