New Delhi — Meta officials admitted to a mistake during an appearance before the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights on Wednesday and agreed to report child abuse-related content directly to Indian law enforcement agencies, according to government sources.
Meta India chief Arun Srinivas and other senior executives appeared before the child rights panel for the second time in a week as the commission continued its inquiry into alleged advertisements linked to Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material on Instagram.
Government sources said Meta officials acknowledged the mistake during the hearing and agreed to strengthen the company’s reporting process for child safety cases in India.
Under the revised approach, Meta will report child abuse content directly to Indian authorities through the cybercrime portal operated by the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre, or I4C.
The company also indicated that it would vet such content itself going forward, the sources said.
The issue has drawn attention to the role of social media algorithms in determining what content is amplified and shown to users. Government sources argued that Meta should not be viewed solely as an intermediary because its systems influence content visibility across its platforms.
They also said social media companies have a responsibility to take proactive steps to protect children from harmful online content.
Srinivas did not respond to repeated media questions about the proceedings after leaving the NCPCR office.
Meta executives had previously appeared before the commission on Sept. 9. The panel later summoned the company’s India managing director and other senior officials for another hearing as part of its formal inquiry.
Meta, which owns Instagram and Facebook, had previously routed child safety-related cases primarily through the U.S.-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. Reporting such matters directly to Indian authorities marks a change in that process. (Source: IANS)
