US child safety body asks India to avoid duplicate abuse reports | #childsafety | #kids | #chldern | #parents | #schoolsafey

The US-based National Center for Missing & Exploited Children (NCMEC) has asked India not to require US platforms to report suspected child sexual exploitation cases directly to Indian authorities if they already report them to NCMEC, The Economic Times reported. Duplicate reporting would increase the burden on law enforcement and delay action to protect children, NCMEC said.

John Shehan, a senior vice president at NCMEC, wrote the letter on November 6 to Union Home Secretary Govind Mohan, MeitY Secretary S Krishnan and the Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C).

What does NCMEC argue?

US law: US law requires platforms such as Meta, Google and Snapchat to report suspected child sexual abuse material (CSAM), online enticement and child sex trafficking to NCMEC’s CyberTipline. Platforms cannot fulfil this obligation by reporting only to a foreign agency.

India already receives reports: NCMEC said it made more than 5.5 million CyberTipline reports available to the I4C between January 2025 and September 2026. It shared 77% of them within an hour and 89% within 24 hours. Reports linked to India reached the I4C in an average of 52 hours.

Analysis: The reports included more than 6.5 million images and videos. NCMEC said it added notes on their content, context and severity to 64% of them to help Indian authorities prioritise cases.

Duplication: If platforms report to both the I4C and NCMEC, Indian authorities would receive two reports about the same case.

Other countries: NCMEC cited the UK and Brazil, which made exceptions to direct reporting requirements for platforms that already report to NCMEC. It has also requested a meeting with Indian officials.

How do reports reach India now? Platforms report to NCMEC, which forwards reports linked to India to the I4C. This arrangement is based on a 2019 memorandum between the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) and NCMEC. The I4C later replaced the NCRB as the recipient of these reports.

Platforms have started moving towards direct reporting. In September, Meta said it would report child safety matters directly to the cybercrime portal operated by the I4C. Google has also proposed sharing relevant information with the I4C, according to The Economic Times.

This push follows Supreme Court proceedings in which the court directed the government to strengthen mechanisms for detecting and removing such material. The court also said platforms must fulfil their reporting obligations under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act. In October, the Centre asked the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to speed up the development of an AI tool to detect CSAM online.

Why it matters: The POCSO Act requires anyone who becomes aware of such offences to report them to Indian authorities. NCMEC’s letter asks India to rely on reports routed through a US-based organisation instead. India has the right to determine its own reporting process for offences under Indian law. However, it is unclear what information NCMEC shares with India and how much of that information Indian authorities actually use.

What we asked NCMEC: MediaNama has sent the following questions to NCMEC, and requested a copy of the November 6 letter:

Indian authorities may need reports directly from platforms to act on cases under Indian law. Why should India not also receive these reports directly for its own action?

What information does NCMEC share with Indian authorities when a CyberTipline report has a link to India? Does it include the original images and videos, user and account details, IP addresses, and NCMEC’s own analysis?

How many of the 5.5 million reports have been shared with Indian authorities in full, and how many have the I4C or Indian law enforcement actually accessed?

What is the average time between NCMEC receiving a report and sharing it with Indian authorities, and how does the 52-hour average relate to the figure of 77% shared within an hour?

We will update this story when NCMEC responds.

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