As per National Crime Record Bureau (NCRB) Head-wise cases registered, cases charge-sheeted, cases convicted, persons convicted under Cyber Crime against Children (involving communication devices as medium/target) during 2018-2020 is Annexure-I.
(i) Section 67B of the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000 provides stringent punishment for publishing, transmitting or viewing child sexual abuse material online.
(ii) The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 empower the users of Intermediaries and makes the social media platforms accountable for their safety. The Rules require the intermediaries to adopt a robust grievance redressal mechanism including time-bound disposal of grievances. The Intermediaries need to convey their terms and conditions which must include communication to users not to host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, update or share any information that is inter alia harmful, defamatory, obscene, invasive of another’s privacy, harm minors in any way or are otherwise unlawful. Intermediaries are also expected to remove any information violative of any law in India as and when brought to their knowledge either through court order or through a notice by an appropriate government or its authorised agency. The Rules also require Significant Social Media Intermediary (SSMI) to endeavour to deploy technology-based measures to proactively identify child sexual abuse material.
(iii) Government periodically blocks the websites containing extreme child sexual abuse material (CSAM) based on INTERPOL’s “worst of the list” received through the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), the national nodal agency for Interpol in India.
(iv) Government has issued an order to concerned Internet Service Providers (ISPs) ordering them to implement Internet Watch Foundation (IWF), UK or Project Arachnid, Canada list of CSAM websites/webpages on a dynamic basis and block access to such child pornography webpages/websites.
(v) Meity through a program, namely, Information Security Education & Awareness (ISEA), has been creating awareness among users including women and children highlighting the importance of digital safety while using the Internet. A dedicated website for information security awareness (https://www.infosecawareness.in) provides relevant awareness material. (d): The Information Technology Act, 2000 provides a legal framework for addressing all types of prevailing cyber crimes as reported in the country.
(vi) Further, Section-14 of the Protection of Children from Sexual Offence (POCSO) Act provides Punishment for using children for pornographic purposes. As per section-14:
(1) Whoever uses a child or children for pornographic purposes shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than five years and shall also be liable to fine and in the event of second or subsequent conviction with imprisonment for a term which shall not be less than seven years and also be liable to fine.
(2) Whoever using a child or children for pornographic purposes under sub-section (1), commits an offence referred to in section 3 or section 5 or section 7 or section 9 by directly participating in such pornographic acts, shall be punished for the said offences also under section 4, section 6, section 8 and section 10, respectively, in addition to the punishment provided in sub-section (1).”.
