Google breaks from global practice, to report child abuse content directly to Indian govt

NEW DELHI: Google has agreed to report content flagged as child sexual abuse material directly to Indian authorities, moving away from a global reporting process in which such cases are first sent to a US-based nonprofit, news agency Reuters reported on Monday.The decision follows a similar move by Meta last week and comes after the central government officials pressed technology companies, including Google and Microsoft, to send reports involving India directly to local authorities. Officials raised concerns that the existing system could cause significant delays in cases requiring urgent intervention.A Google spokesperson said the company “invests significantly to detect, deter, remove, and report child sexual abuse material,” adding that the proposal is part of its “ongoing discussions with the government of India.”Google and Meta have traditionally reported suspected child sexual abuse material to the US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC), which then passes the reports to law enforcement agencies in the relevant country.Indian officials argued that routing reports through the intermediary could cost valuable time, particularly when a child may face immediate danger and local police need to intervene, according to two government sources.The change is significant for both companies given India's size as a market. India is the largest user market for Google's YouTube and Meta's Facebook.Meta's decision came after weeks of tensions with the government, including an apology by CEO Mark Zuckerberg last month over the spread of child sexual abuse material on the company's platforms.Get the latest Business News and Live updates. Download the TOI app.