On Child Porn Case, Twitter Details Tools To Locate Content, Accounts

Twitter has said it has a "zero tolerance policy for child sexual exploitation" and has incorporated special tools to detect and remove content linked to child pornography and the accounts linked to it. In response "to Delhi Police queries the online platform also said "viewing, sharing, or linking to child sexual exploitation (CSE) material, regardless of the intent, contributes to the re-victimization of the depicted children and is prohibited on our service".

The Delhi Police has filed a case against Twitter -- the fourth since it lost legal immunity for content posted by users amid a massive row with the government. The fresh case -- following a complaint by the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights or NCPCR -- has been filed under the Posco Act and the IT Act.

The Delhi Police cyber cell then e-mailed Twitter, seeking details of all links which had child sexual abuse material.

The police have also asked Twitter to give details of all accounts that are selling or hosting child porn content.

A spokesperson of Twitter today said in 2019, the platform launched a feature in search prompt aimed at deterrence of child sexual exploitation.

"The prompt was developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Home Affairs and NGOs in India to blacklist specific CSE search keywords in Hindi, English, Bengali and Kannada," the spokesperson said.

"We have been at the forefront of responding to the evolving challenge of preventing the exploitation of children on the Internet and will continue to aggressively fight online child sexual abuse, as well as invest in the technology and tools that are essential to stay ahead of this issue,"Twitter said.

"We will continue to invest in proactive detection and removal of content that violates the Twitter Rules and work with law enforcement and NGO partners in India to tackle the issue," the spokesperson added.

Twitter lost legal protection from prosecution over users' posts earlier this month after its failure to comply with new digital rules, including appointment of Indian officials for the grievance and redressal system.

The move came as the microblogging platform clashed with the government over the new IT rules, contending they were against the freedom of speech and expression grated in the Constitution. The row intensified after it tagged tweets by BJP leaders on an alleged "Congress toolkit" as "manipulated media".

Since then, three other cases have been filed against the platform – one relating to the attack on an elderly man in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, and two regarding an incorrect map of India on the site.