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.
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.
Meghalaya Police in East Khasi Hills distributed helmets to riders transporting children without headgear, focusing on education and safety over fines.
An 85-year-old man has been arrested in Thane's Dombivali township for allegedly sexually assaulting a four-year-old girl. The incident occurred when the girl was playing outside her home, and the accused lured her into his house. Police have registered a case under the BNS and POCSO Act.
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.
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.
A teacher at a government residential school in Chhattisgarh's Bijapur district has been accused of sexually harassing a 14-year-old girl and other students. Police have registered a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and POCSO Act, with efforts underway to apprehend the accused. Chief Minister Vishnu Deo Sai has ordered a thorough probe, strict action, and directed district authorities to enhance vigilance and conduct regular inspections of girls' hostels and residential schools to ensure child safety.
An assistant teacher in Jaunpur, Uttar Pradesh, has been suspended after a Class 2 student was inadvertently locked inside a primary school classroom. The incident, which occurred on Friday, came to light through a viral video showing the distressed child. Villagers intervened, contacting school staff who returned to release the student after about 90 minutes. An inquiry held the teacher responsible, leading to her immediate suspension and a further probe.
Experts urge internet platforms to adopt prevention-by-design and stronger AI systems to curb child sexual exploitation material and improve online child safety.
A 50-year-old man has been arrested in northwest Delhi's Rohini area for allegedly molesting a seven-year-old girl. The incident occurred when the girl went to a shop, leading to a police complaint and registration of a case under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and POCSO Act.
A devastating fire in a central Kolkata building resulted in nine deaths, primarily due to asphyxia, and the rescue of around 80 people. West Bengal minister Kaushik Chowdhury highlighted the quick response of the Fire Brigade but raised concerns about safety norms, lack of windows, and the proliferation of cramped hotels within the building. An investigation committee will be formed, and fire audits will be conducted across all hotels in the state.
Residents of Kanjhawala, New Delhi, are in shock after the headless body of a newborn infant, estimated to be two to three months old, was discovered near a crematorium. Police have launched an investigation to determine the circumstances of the death, how the body was brought to the location, and who abandoned it. Multiple police teams are searching for the missing head, and authorities are checking crematorium records and questioning staff.
A Delhi court has denied bail to Raj Kumar, an accused in an inter-state child trafficking racket, emphasising that child trafficking is a "heinous scourge" and an "onslaught on the moral conscience of civilised society." The court highlighted the vulnerability of children and the commercialisation of infants, noting that the complainant's newborn is still missing and the accused's wife has prior involvement in similar cases.
A government school teacher in Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district has been dismissed from service following his alleged involvement in the rape and subsequent death of a 15-year-old girl. The dismissal was enacted under Article 311(2)(b) of the Constitution, with authorities citing the case as "rarest of the rare."
A 52-year-old government school headmaster in Hoshiarpur has been arrested for allegedly raping an 11-year-old girl earlier this month. The case was registered under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and POCSO Act, with investigations ongoing.
A Bahraich court has sentenced a young man to 20 years of rigorous imprisonment and a fine of Rs 54,000 in a rape case from four years ago. The convict, a juvenile at the time of the incident, was identified through DNA evidence after the victim became pregnant. He will be held at a 'Government Place of Safety' until he turns 21, then transferred to district jail.
The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Union ministries of electronics and information technology and law and justice regarding a plea for safeguards for minors on social media. The NGO 'Just Rights for Children Alliance' filed the plea, arguing that social media platforms should not enter into contracts with children under 18, citing their statutory incapacity to contract and the risks of online harm.
Parents of a nine-year-old girl, Amaira, who died by suicide at Jaipur's Neerja Modi School last year, have released new CCTV footage. They allege the footage shows their daughter being repeatedly bullied by classmates, and that the school failed to intervene despite her distress. The family is demanding action under the Juvenile Justice Act and a thorough investigation, claiming police did not properly investigate due to school influence.
India's IT Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has directed officials to summon Meta regarding Instagram ads promoting child sexual abuse material, following a BBC investigation. This action comes shortly after the government also questioned Meta about WhatsApp's planned username feature, citing concerns over increased online fraud and cybercrimes.
A six-year-old UKG student tragically died at a private school in Visakhapatnam after allegedly being slapped by a teacher inside the classroom, an incident captured on CCTV footage.
A devastating fire at a Kolkata hotel claimed nine lives, including a child and two women, in the early hours of Wednesday. Survivors recounted a terrifying experience, highlighting the absence of fire alarms and safety equipment, and the difficulty of escape due to dense smoke and a single exit. This incident follows another fatal hotel fire in Birbhum.
The Delhi government is considering taking over the management of a private school in Janakpuri following allegations of a sexual assault on a three-year-old girl. The Directorate of Education issued a show-cause notice to the school, citing serious lapses in child safety and compliance with norms, which remains unanswered.
Arunachal Pradesh Women and Child Development Minister Dasanglu Pul launched a child rights awareness initiative to promote a safe, child-friendly environment across the state. The initiative includes pamphlets educating children, parents, and teachers on key child protection laws.
A devastating fire in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) of a government hospital in Amravati, Maharashtra, resulted in the deaths of three newborns. Eyewitnesses and grieving parents allege that fire alarms remained silent and water sprinklers failed to activate, pointing to severe safety lapses and hospital negligence. While 36 infants were rescued, families are demanding accountability for the tragic loss of life.
The father of a three-year-old boy, who allegedly endured hours of physical abuse inside his playschool in northeast Delhi, has claimed that CCTV footage showed his son tied to a chair for nearly three hours, beaten and kicked repeatedly, and, in one instance, a person placing hands on the child's private parts.
Five-year-old Ishara Tamang lies in a hospital bed in Kathmandu, injured and separated from her family, after surviving the flash floods that devastated Rasuwa district on the Nepal-Tibet border.She was rescued from the floodwaters in Khalte, a village in Rasuwa, after being trapped in a net.
A woman in Meerut has accused her former husband of encouraging their eight-year-old son to smoke cigarettes and recording videos of him for social media. She has sought police intervention and custody of the child, citing concerns about his safety, upbringing, and the father's alleged past involvement in a narcotics case. Police are investigating the complaint.
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The incident, which occurred early Monday morning, was reportedly caused by a sparking ventilator.
A devastating fire in a five-storey building housing multiple hotels in central Kolkata resulted in the deaths of at least nine people, including a child, and injured six others. Firefighters rescued 80 individuals, but dense smoke hampered operations. Authorities suspect a short circuit and allege significant safety and construction norm violations by the building management. The owner is currently absconding, and police have initiated legal proceedings and raids.
Rebel Trinamool Congress MP Kakoli Ghosh Dastidar announced that 20 dissident Lok Sabha members from TMC have merged with the Nationalist Citizens Party of India (NCPI) and pledged support to the NDA under Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The group expects its numbers to increase to 22 and clarified they have no connection with rebel TMC MLAs in West Bengal. Dastidar also highlighted the alleged non-implementation of central schemes in West Bengal by the previous TMC government.
A 25-year-old vegetable vendor has been arrested in Delhi for allegedly molesting an 11-year-old girl. Police used CCTV footage to identify and apprehend the suspect.
The family of Chongtham Vikram Singh, a Manipuri musician beaten to death in south Delhi, has appealed for justice and an impartial probe, stating they seek accountability, not revenge, for his sudden loss.
With the death toll crossing 900 and nearly 4,000 people still missing, the trauma of loss, displacement and uncertainty is settling in among thousands of survivors, prompting the government to step up its mental health response.
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A 7-year-old student at a residential school in Palghar, Maharashtra, has died from high fever and breathing difficulties, leading to the hospitalisation of 26 other students with similar symptoms. This incident follows recent deaths of tribal girls in another Maharashtra ashram school due to snakebite, highlighting ongoing concerns about student safety and health in such facilities.
An FIR has been registered against five women employees of a daycare centre in Bengaluru's Brookefield for allegedly physically abusing toddlers. The abuse, captured in videos shared via WhatsApp, includes threatening children, putting them in a washing machine, and spraying water into their mouths. Police are investigating the matter under the Juvenile Justice Act.
Police in Hamirpur, Himachal Pradesh, are investigating a case of alleged child marriage and sexual exploitation after hospital staff raised concerns during a medical examination of two girls.
Four individuals, including two women, have been arrested in Indore for allegedly kidnapping two children and demanding a ransom of Rs 15 lakh. The children were lured with the promise of pets and later rescued by the police.
