Meta to report child safety cases directly to India's I4C cybercrime portal

Meta has agreed to route child safety complaints straight to the cybercrime portal operated by the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), making it the first large technology intermediary to build a direct reporting channel to Indian law enforcement.

A company spokesperson said the protection of children on its platforms remains a priority and that the firm is committed to working with the government so that those behind such crimes are held accountable. The spokesperson added that reporting child safety matters directly to the I4C portal would help combine efforts against this form of harm.

Until now, Meta has reported child safety cases to the United States-based National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Government stance

Government sources said the company had agreed to flag child safety-related matters to the appropriate law enforcement agencies. They described the online safety of children as a fundamental principle for any social media platform operating in the country and said it was non-negotiable.

Platforms that do not take proactive steps to protect minors online will face action, the sources said, adding that the government is in touch with other platforms as well to ensure such content is identified and removed without delay. Meta's commitment was described as a first step, with more still to be done.

Wider scrutiny

The development comes amid intensified government scrutiny of social media platforms over harmful and illegal content, including child sexual abuse material and deepfakes.

In July, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology issued a notice to Meta over Child Sexual Exploitative and Abuse Material (CSEAM) in paid advertisements on Instagram. The ministry directed the platform to disable all advertisements and content promoting or facilitating access to such material and sought a detailed explanation. Subsequent discussions with the company's senior executives made clear that such content is a violation and cannot claim safe-harbour protection.

Earlier this month, the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights summoned Meta India's Managing Director and Head in connection with its inquiry into the alleged advertisements. The child rights body had taken suo motu cognisance of a media report on the matter and sought an explanation from the company.

The Centre has also summoned the company's global executives to India as it pushes all platforms for faster takedown of harmful content, stronger safeguards and greater accountability, warning that non-compliance with Indian law will not be tolerated.