Google to report child sexual abuse material directly to Indian authorities

New Delhi: Google has agreed to report content flagged as child sexual abuse material (CSAM) directly to Indian authorities, the company said on Monday.A Google spokesperson stated: “Google is deeply committed to fighting CSAM online and preventing its platforms from being used to create, store or distribute such material. We invest significantly to detect, deter, remove and report child sexual abuse material. As part of our ongoing discussions with the Government of India, we have respectfully proposed to operationalise the provision of relevant information to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) in cases related to child sexual abuse material.”The move follows a similar decision by Meta last week. Meta, the parent company of Facebook and Instagram, has established a direct reporting pipeline to the cybercrime portal managed by the I4C.Until now, US-based platforms including Google and Meta primarily routed such cases through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the United States.Google says its AI hacked three companies in testing breakoutIndian officials had pressed tech firms in recent weeks to report CSAM cases involving India directly to domestic agencies. They argued that routing reports through NCMEC created delays that could prove critical when a child is in active danger, according to government sources.The government has described the online safety of children as a "non-negotiable" principle for platforms operating in India.India represents the largest user market for both YouTube and Meta’s platforms. Meta’s decision came amid heightened friction with the Central government, including an apology last month by CEO Mark Zuckerberg over the spread of CSAM on its services.

Source: Deccan Herald