India's Digital Blind Spot: The Challenge of Reporting and Combating Child Abuse Material Online

What is the immediate trigger for this discussion?

The current focus on India's challenges in combating online child abuse material (OCAM) stems from a recent notice issued by the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on September 2, 2026. The NHRC, acting under the Protection of Human Rights Act, 1993, issued notices to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB), and the Delhi Police. These notices were prompted by allegations of paid Instagram advertisements that allegedly used search terms like “rape video” and “child video” to direct users to Telegram channels offering Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM). The NHRC's order specifically questioned whether statutory reporting obligations under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act, 2012, were complied with by Meta, the parent company of Instagram, and whether platforms whose AI systems actively shape content can continue to claim the legal protections available to intermediaries (Source: Indian Express, September 5, 2026).

How does India receive and process reports of online child abuse material?

India's system for addressing online child abuse material largely relies on an international reporting mechanism known as the CyberTipline. These reports are generated when tech platforms detect suspected Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse Material (CSEAM) on their services. The initial report is made to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) in the US, which operates the CyberTipline. When the activity appears linked to India, the report is then forwarded to Indian authorities for verification and investigation. India received approximately 1.9 million CyberTipline reports in 2025, indicating the scale of detected material (Source: Indian Express, September 5, 2026).

Upon receipt, these reports are processed by the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and the Indian Cybercrime Coordination Centre (I4C), both operating under the Union Ministry of Home Affairs. The data is routed through a central system and assigned to the relevant state and district authorities. In Delhi, for instance, the Intelligence Fusion and Strategic Operations (IFSO) unit receives the report from the NCRB and I4C. The IFSO then verifies the district indicated in the report and forwards it to the appropriate local police station along with a tipline number. Investigators subsequently seek two categories of information from the platform: the identity of the sender and the recipient of the material (Source: Naresh Diwan, Delhi Police Cyber Cell, cited in Indian Express, September 5, 2026).