Centre Tightens Rules Against Child Sexual Abuse Content Online
Government mandates faster removal of CSAM, AI-generated harmful content and strengthens social media accountability
- Centre orders stricter action against child sexual abuse material on social media.
- Platforms must remove unlawful content within three hours of official orders.
- New rules target AI-generated deepfakes, CSAM and non-consensual intimate imagery.
- Government warns intermediaries of legal action for non-compliance.
GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 22nd July: The Centre has strengthened the legal and regulatory framework to curb the spread of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM) and other harmful content on social media platforms, directing intermediaries to act swiftly against unlawful material while tightening compliance requirements under the Information Technology Rules.
Replying to a question in the Lok Sabha, Minister of State for Electronics and Information Technology Jitin Prasada said the government has taken serious note of reports alleging advertisements linked to CSAM on social media platforms and has sought a detailed report from the concerned intermediary. The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has also issued notices to the platforms concerned.
The government said the Information Technology Act, 2000, along with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, provides a comprehensive legal framework to tackle cyber offences, including the publication or transmission of obscene, sexually explicit and child sexual abuse material.
Under the IT Rules, social media intermediaries are required to exercise due diligence and prevent users from hosting or sharing content that is harmful to children or violates Indian law. Platforms must remove or disable access to complaints involving nudity, sexually explicit content or morphed images within two hours of receiving a complaint from the victim or an authorised representative.
The government said recent amendments have further reduced the timeline for removing unlawful content from 36 hours to three hours after receiving a valid court order or reasoned direction from the appropriate government or its authorised agency.
The revised rules also strengthen safeguards against AI-generated content, including deepfakes, by requiring clear labelling and traceable metadata for permissible synthetic content. Social media platforms have also been directed to deploy appropriate technical measures to detect and prevent the dissemination of unlawful AI-generated material, including child sexual exploitation content, impersonation and non-consensual intimate imagery.
The government said significant social media intermediaries are also required to proactively identify content depicting rape or child sexual abuse and, where legally required, enable identification of the first originator of information related to serious offences involving national security or child sexual abuse.
The Centre has issued multiple advisories to digital intermediaries, including those dated December 29, 2025, and March 16, 2026, directing them to strengthen content moderation systems and comply strictly with statutory obligations. It has also released a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) for tackling the online circulation of Non-Consensual Intimate Imagery (NCII) to ensure prompt action by platforms and law enforcement agencies.
The government warned that intermediaries failing to comply with the IT Rules could lose legal protection under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act and face action under applicable laws.
