Shillong: The Supreme Court handed the Centre a final deadline. Justices J.B. Pardiwala and K. Vinod Chandran demanded an action-taken report regarding mandatory reporting of Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material (CSEAM) by social media firms. The court noted that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Ministry of Law and Justice ignored a previous order from August 14, 2026.
"Unfortunately, till this date, no such counter or report has come on record. The matter before us is extremely serious. We grant one last opportunity to both the ministries to file that counter/report," the Bench stated on Thursday. The case follows a September 23, 2024, judgment involving the Just Rights for Children Alliance.
Additional Solicitor General K.M. Nataraj told the court the government considers the issue a priority. He confirmed they already issued notice to one company and started proceedings. The court now requires a detailed explanation of how the Centre plans to curb CSEAM circulation and prevent future lapses by intermediaries.
Authorities must submit a draft Standard Operating Procedure four to five days before the October 15 hearing. This gives the petitioner time to weigh in. The proceedings center on statutory obligations under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act and the Information Technology Act. The Just Rights for Children Alliance pushed for this intervention after reports surfaced that Instagram ran paid ads featuring illegal child content. They want a uniform system for evidence preservation and faster reporting to the National Database of Sexual Offenders.
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