NEW DELHI: Officials stated on Tuesday that the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) has sent letters to the Centre and states in response to a claim that the amount of child sex abuse material being shared on social media in India has surged by 250–300%.
According to reports, these contents originate from other nations, and the Indian investigating agencies have not yet found any material that was produced in India, according to the rights panel.
The commission stated in a statement that, if accurate, the information in the media amounts to a breach of people's rights to life, liberty, and dignity as well as the protection of young children from the risk of sexual abuse on social media.
The NHRC said that it has taken suo motu notice of media reports claiming that there has been a 250–300% surge in child sexual abuse material (CSAM) dissemination on social media in India.
As a result, it has sent notices to the secretary of the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, the director of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB), the commissioner of police in Delhi, the director generals of the police in all states and union territories, and the director of the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) asking for a detailed report on the steps taken to stop this threat on social media within six weeks, according to the statement.
As of May 15, 4,50,207 cases of the dissemination of materials including child sexual abuse have been documented, according to a media source. The Delhi Police have intervened in 3,039 of these cases. It stated that 44,7168 of these cases are currently being investigated.
"In some cases, even photographs taken lovingly, of young children by respective fathers, brothers and sisters in India have been classified as child sexual abuse by an American NGO. There were 2,04,056 cases reported in the year 2022; 1,63,633 in the year 2021, and 17,390 in the year 2020 of child sexual abuse material on social media in India," the statement said.
The commission also published "Human Rights Advisory for the Protection of the Rights of Children in the Context of COVID-19" in September 2020 and June 2021, respectively, in which it provided advice to the relevant authorities on cybercrime and children's online safety.
These dealt with using the portal for reporting cybercrime and the PRAGYATA Guidelines for Digital Education.
A discussion on the nature, scope, and many manifestations of the CSAM problem was also held in November 2022, involving a variety of subject-matter experts.
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