Google Proposes Sharing Child Abuse Material Cases Directly With India’s India’s Cyber Crime Centre: What Does That Mean?

Google has proposed operationalising the sharing of information on cases involving child sexual abuse material (CSAM) directly with the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) under the Ministry of Home Affairs, signalling a possible shift from its current reliance on international reporting channels. The proposal comes amid increased government scrutiny over how social media platforms report child-safety cases in India. Google said the plan is part of its ongoing discussions with the government, but it has not yet been finalised.

“Google is deeply committed to fighting CSAM online and preventing its platforms from being used to create, store or distribute such material. We invest significantly to detect, deter, remove, and report child sexual abuse material. As part of our ongoing discussions with the Government of India, we have respectfully proposed to operationalize the provision of relevant information to the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) in cases related to child sexual abuse material,” a Google spokesperson said on Monday in response to a query. The Business Standard first reported the development.

Google plan follows Meta’s move to report cases directly to I4C

The proposal comes days after Meta said it would begin reporting child-safety matters directly to the Cyber Crime portal managed by I4C. Meta’s move followed pressure from the government over the reporting of CSAM-related cases. Google’s proposal, however, remains at the discussion stage. It could not be immediately established which ministry or department the company made the proposal to.

In a September 15 statement to HT, a Meta spokesperson said: “Protecting children on our platforms is a priority for us and we are committed to working with the government to ensure that the perpetrators of these crimes are held responsible. To collectively strengthen our efforts to combat this harm, Meta will now report child safety matters directly to the Cyber crime portal managed by I4C.”

Google currently sends CSAM reports through NCMEC process

At present, Google reports CSAM through a system involving the US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), similar to Meta. When Google detects CSAM on its platforms, it removes the material and files a CyberTipline report with NCMEC or other relevant authorities.

These reports can contain the offending material, contextual information and, where relevant, details that can help identify the user or the child victim. NCMEC then forwards reports to law enforcement agencies around the world, where appropriate. The proposed I4C arrangement could therefore add a direct Indian reporting route to the existing process.

Google move comes as Centre pushes platforms to act

Government scrutiny intensified after a BBC Eye investigation found advertisements on Instagram using phrases such as “rape video” and “child video”. The advertisements directed users to Telegram channels allegedly selling CSAM. Following the report, officials from the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) summoned Meta officials.

The government has maintained that platforms should report such cases directly to Indian law enforcement agencies. A senior MeitY official earlier told HT that Meta had been reporting cases to NCMEC, but the government wanted the company to also report them to Indian authorities. The Centre has also said online child safety is a fundamental principle for social media platforms operating in India and is “non-negotiable”.

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