Top Meta India executives, including chief Arun Srinivas, appeared before the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) for the second time in a week regarding alleged Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) related advertisements on its platforms. Meta has committed to reporting child safety matters directly to India's I4C cybercrime portal, a significant shift from its previous practice of reporting to a US-based centre. The government is pushing for stronger safeguards and accountability from social media platforms to ensure online child safety.
Senior executives from Meta, the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp, appeared before India's child rights body, NCPCR, for questioning regarding alleged advertisements promoting child sexual exploitative and abuse material (CSEAM) on its platforms. This follows a BBC report and a stern notice from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to Meta over the issue.
The company's India head, Arun Srinivas, has been summoned by the child rights body on Thursday.
Meta has agreed to report child safety-related matters, including child sexual abuse cases, to appropriate law enforcement agencies in India, government sources confirmed, emphasising that online safety for children is a "non-negotiable" fundamental principle for social media platforms operating in the country.
The organisation has challenged the action of Uttar Pradesh and Tripura governments directing that students of unrecognised madrassas should be shifted to government schools.
Villagers alleged that a seven-month-old child was snatched from her mother's lap and thrown away by miscreants in Sandeshkhali.
The Kerala High Court has intervened to protect a young woman, known as the 'Kumbh Mela girl', from being transferred to Madhya Pradesh police without its order, despite a directive from the National Commission for Scheduled Tribes.
Government sources state that Meta, due to its algorithmic amplification of content, can no longer be considered a "simple intermediary" but rather a "service provider," implying greater responsibility and potential loss of legal immunity. This shift comes as Meta commits to directly reporting child abuse content to Indian law enforcement, amidst increasing government scrutiny over harmful online content and algorithmic bias.
The top court said the NCPCR was empowered to conduct enquiry and take action in accordance with law under the Commission for Protection of Child Rights (CPCR) Act, 2005.
Kamra had shared the purported video of Modi's interaction in Germany with the child but he replaced the song that the boy sang -- 'Janmabhoomi Bharat' -- with "Mehengayi daayan khaaye jaat hain", a Bollywood song about price rise.
The police, however, rubbished Kanoongo's allegation and said officers had cooperated with him, and it was the NCPCR chief who "misbehaved" with them.
Experts and global leaders have called on the United Nations to declare a dedicated 'World Day for the Elimination of Child Marriage', highlighting that a child marriage still occurs every three seconds globally.
The Rajasthan government has issued an order restricting the entry of outsiders into government schools and barring photography and videography without prior permission, a move that follows protests over poor conditions and an announced inspection by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) has moved the Supreme Court against the legalisation of same-sex marriages.
NCPCR chairperson Priyank Kanoongo also asked the Directorate General of Civil Aviation to initiate an inquiry in the matter and take necessary action against the airline and its manager.
The apex child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights has sought action against comedian Kunal Kamra for tweeting a "doctored" video of a boy singing a patriotic song in front of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Gandhi on Wednesday met the family of the nine-year-old girl and asserted that he is with them on the path to justice and "will not back down even an inch".
Private schools failing to provide these facilities risk de-recognition
A case was registered by the police after the teen lodged a formal complaint.
The NCPCR asked Facebook for taking appropriate action against the Instagram profile of Gandhi over violation of provisions of the Juvenile Justice Act, 2015, the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act, 2012, and the Indian Penal Code, and demanded the removal of the video from the platform.
In its letter, the commission also observed that the image allegedly uploaded by the leaders was in order to divert attention in the ongoing/pending investigation by Central Bureau of Investigation against Manish Sisodia".
The National Commission for Women (NCW) has taken suo motu cognisance of the gangrape of a 15-year-old girl in Tamil Nadu, terming the incident "horrific" and raising concerns over the safety of minor girls.
'SIT means nothing because the BJP government of Uttar Pradesh and Ram Janmabhoomi Trust are the same people.'
Police have already arrested the teacher, and the principal of the school.
Political leaders in Tamil Nadu, including TTV Dhinakaran and Anbumani Ramadoss, have strongly condemned the abduction and murder of a 10-year-old girl in Coimbatore district. Two people have been reportedly arrested in connection with the incident.
The report indicates that the miscreants forcibly entered her house and physically assaulted her. Shockingly, they also snatched her infant daughter and callously threw her away, the commission said.
J Sandhya, member, Child Rights Commission, speaks to Shobha Warrier about the recent incident where more than five hundred poor children from Jharkhand, Bihar and West Bengal were being sent to Kerala orphanages, and why children's rights need to be protected with vigour.
The ban is aimed at curbing the easy availability of pornographic material, particularly to minors, and ensuring that digital content remains within the bounds of decency and the law, they said.
The Delhi Police has registered a first information report (FIR) against Twitter for allegedly allowing access to child pornography on the microblogging platform on a complaint by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR), officials said.
If TVK MLAs and ministers are perceived as clean, or demonstrably cleaner than their predecessors, the credibility dividend will be enormous. The voter will feel rewarded, points out Ramesh Menon.
Contradictory statements from officials have surfaced regarding the post mortem examination in the case of two infants who died after being bitten by rats at a government-run hospital in Indore, Madhya Pradesh. The incident has triggered investigations and disciplinary actions.
National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) chief Priyank Kanoongo, who is in Jharkhand with his team to probe the death of two minor girls in Dumka, claimed on Monday that the state government was "trying to obstruct investigations".
The National Commission for Protection of Child Rights with the Association of Voluntary Action, also known as Bachpan Bachao Andolan, led the crackdown at Som Distillery on Saturday, a release stated.
The data, which was shared by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights in response to an RTI query from PTI, also stated that 686 children living in child care institutions (CCIs) have been infected with COVID-19 so far this year.
Days after a newborn girl died at the government-run Maharaja Yeshwantrao Hospital (MYH) in Indore, a tribal outfit on Monday claimed rats had gnawed her four fingers, and accused the medical facility's administration of lying and misleading everyone.
The Delhi Police has sent a notice to micro-blogging site Twitter seeking details about steps taken by it against circulation of child pornographic content on its platform, officials said.
The then Uttar Pradesh chief secretary, Durga Shankar Mishra, in an order dated June 26 and issued to all the district magistrates of the state, cited a letter from the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights dated June 7.
The Supreme Court of India has referred the matter of the Right to Education (RTE) Act's applicability to minority schools to a larger bench for adjudication, expressing concerns about potential misuse and fragmentation of the education system.
Edtech major Byju's has denied charges that it purchased students' databases and clarified that it relies on app users, walk-ins and incoming requests for consultation. The statement from Byju's comes against the backdrop of summons issued to the company by child rights body National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR). "Byju's strongly denies the allegation that it purchases students' databases.
In the wake of the alleged suicide by a student in Kolkata after being caned by his principal, a child rights body may push for amending the Indian Penal Code to ensure that anyone involved in corporal punishment does not get away under certain provisions of the law.
